


Shadows of the Past

by shadesalogel



Series: Med-jai Chronicles [3]
Category: Stargate SG-1, The Mummy (1999)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Crossover, Don't copy to another site, Gen, Time Travel, Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-05
Updated: 2020-04-24
Packaged: 2020-11-23 23:15:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 32
Words: 124,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20897732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shadesalogel/pseuds/shadesalogel
Summary: While guarding some ruins, 15-year-olds Rick and Ardeth encounter some strangers who come through one of the relics, a device called a ‘Stargate.’





	1. Ancient Secrets

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Any characters you recognize do not belong to the authors. Some of the ideas were inspired by Xanthia Morgan’s wonderful fic, Brother of My Soul. Don't copy to another site!
> 
> Rina and I got attacked by the 'what-if' bug, and this happened. Enjoy!

Ardeth led the way through the dark tunnels, pointing out different passages now and then to Rick. "The basic setup is similar to the rest of the ruins—it makes it easier for us to do our job if we know about where all of the traps will be." The boy paused outside of one section of the wall. "This is the way into the main chamber, and there is a creature sealed into a sarcophagus. We don't want to stay in there for very long, my friend, or it will try to ensnare our minds to force us to free it. I will show you where the trap triggers are, then we'll leave."

Rick followed closely behind Ardeth, holding his shot gun over one shoulder. He shook his head. "One lifetime just wasn't enough for these guys. Couldn't they just have left well enough alone?"

Ardeth grinned over his shoulder as he started the complicated task of releasing the locks to the door so that it would open. "Of course not—they want to rule for all eternity. Rather arrogant, really," Just as Ardeth got the door open, there was a brilliant flash of light, and the two boys found themselves facing strangers. Heavily armed strangers.

Rick's gun was aimed at them in a heart beat and the newcomers returned the favor. "Put the guns down, boys,” the stranger in front yelled.

Ignoring the command, Rick's eyes swept them over carefully. "Well, they don't look like temple guards," he murmured out of the corner of his mouth.

Ardeth scowled at the strangers, his scimitar in hand and angled defensively in front of him. "No, they don't resemble any temple guards that I've ever seen before." The boy straightened some, torchlight dancing across the tattoos on his face. "Who are you, strangers, and how did you come to be in this place? You are not welcome here."

"Um, we're explorers from Earth. I'm Daniel—" but his line of introductions was cut off by Rick's scoff.

"Right, no kidding. Where else would you be from?" Rick's tone was sarcastic as he peered at them down the barrel of his weapon. "Daniel" seemed confused by his words slightly.

The first one spoke again. "I'll tell you what. We'll answer your questions when you put your weapons down."

"You go first, stranger. You have no authority here," Ardeth snapped at the man, doing his best to keep his attention on all five of the adults. Suddenly, an unearthly screeching filled the air from where the creature was buried in the chamber. Ardeth paled. "Get out! Now!" he ordered, already reaching for the door locks to seal the chamber again.

"Oh great! That can't be good!" Rick groaned as he followed Ardeth, keeping his aim on the strangers until Ardeth got the door open in case one of them decided to take advantage of the distraction.

"Wait, what's going on?" Daniel asked.

"You're gonna have to trust us on this one!" Rick shouted over his shoulder as he followed Ardeth out the door and down the corridors to where the creature was kept.

Daniel and the rest of his companions exchanged confused glances.

"Med-jai! To me!" Ardeth yelled, hoping the echoes of his call would get through to the guards posted outside the entrance to the tunnels. The prince took in a deep breath as he approached the chamber housing the creature. "Rick, make certain the strangers stay well back. I must make certain that the creature is still buried."

Rick nodded, pumping the shot gun to get the round into the chamber and quickly loading in another from his bandoleer. He could already hear the strangers starting to make their way out of the chamber from where they found them. He rolled his eyes, disgusted. "Why can't people ever listen to us for once?" But he took a moment to cover Ardeth as he went in before he resumed his guard on the hall-side of the door.

Ardeth opened the door to the chamber after activating the shields on the door that would prevent anyone who wasn't a Med-jai from going in or out. It wouldn't stop the creature completely if it was free, but it would slow it down. The boy slipped into the room, glancing at the sarcophagus to make certain it was still sealed.

The strangers appeared around the corner and found themselves once again on the other end of Rick's shotgun. The leader of the group seemed thoroughly annoyed at the idea of being held at gunpoint by a boy. "Look, kid, put the gun down or I'm gonna shoot you. I don't wanna have to hurt you, but I will if I have to."

Rick growled at him. He didn't like being outnumbered by adults with guns. He was also particularly angry at them, because if he didn't have to stand here and protect them from the creature behind him and the barrier surrounding the room, he would be in there where he belonged, covering Ardeth's back. "Stand down! Like he said: 'You're not welcome here!'"

Daniel pushed forward to stand just behind Jack. "Jack, maybe we should listen to him. After all, we don't know what's going on here . . ."

Just then, Ardeth stepped back through the shimmering field of energy and started redoing the protections on the door.

"The creature is still sealed in. We need to get out of the tunnels quickly, though."

Rick breathed a sigh of relief at Ardeth's words, his grip on the shot gun easing slightly. He turned to stare at Jack, who rolled his eyes and slowly put his gun down. The other four in the group followed suit as Jack turned to glare at Daniel. Seeing them at least partly willing to cooperate, Rick at least stopped aiming his gun at them, nodding to Ardeth to lead the way.

"Follow me," Ardeth ordered, sheathing his scimitar and slipping past the strangers to lead the way out of the tunnels. They were almost to the entrance when Ardeth paused, frowning. "Rick, did you seal the passageway back up?" he called to his friend, who was at the rear of the group.

"Yeah," Rick called back, still casting glances over his shoulder every few minutes to be sure they weren't about to be attacked from behind. He knew it was secure, but still he didn't like the chill running through his blood right now. His instincts told him they weren't out of the woods on this just yet. "So what was that sound then?"

Once they were all out of the tunnels, Ardeth slid the heavy stone door closed and pressed a locking glyph on it. Now only a Med-jai could open it again. He turned to look at Rick, keeping a nervous eye on the strangers. "Something caused the creature to wake up. It was trying to get out of where it is imprisoned."

Rick thought about it. "Their arrival at just the same moment can hardly be a coincidence. The question though is: are they trying to wake our pal up?"

"Let's find out." Ardeth and Rick turned to face the strangers at the same time, both boys looking strangely intimidating for their age. "So, strangers," Ardeth began, taking a step forward and focusing on the older man who seemed to be the leader. He trusted Rick to watch his back. "How did you get here, and what do you want?"

All five of the adults seemed to regard the boys curiously. Finally, the leader sighed. "Listen, junior, I need to speak to whoever's in charge of this place."

"You're talking to him," Rick replied curtly.

The leader looked back at Ardeth, seeming to evaluate him. He still seemed uncertain but answered his question anyway. "Well, like my friend said before he was so rudely interrupted," here he tossed a glare a Rick, "we're explorers from Earth, and we got here through the Stargate. I'm Col. Jack O’Neill, two L's, this is Dr. Daniel Jackson, Major Samantha Carter, Jonas and Teal'c."

Rick eyed them suspiciously. "Do we look like we were born yesterday?" he asked, incredulous.

"Do you really want me to answer that question?" Jack retorted.

Ardeth rolled his eyes slightly at this. “Rick, remember, we’re supposed at least appear to respect our elders,” the boy said and turned to Jack. “I do not know where you are from, Col. Jack O’Neill, but this is a sacred area—you are nearly a hundred miles away from Cairo, and this is Earth.”

At Ardeth's explanation of where they were all five exchanged glances. Jack immediately turned and looked at Sam. "Carter?"

"I'm not sure, sir," she answered his unspoken question. "It is possible that another solar flare could have sent us back in time."

"Jack, she's probably right," Daniel added. "I mean look at their weaponry. It seems reminiscent of the early 1900s."

"Yeah, ok. So the question remains. How do we get back?" Jack asked.

Several warriors came running up just then and moved to surround the strangers. Ardeth stopped them with a raised hand. “My Prince, who are these people?” one of the men asked, keeping a wary eye on their unexpected guests.

“I am in the process of finding that out, Hakim. Double the watch and send a message to my father—the creature here is stirring and fighting its imprisonment.” Ardeth turned back to the five adults and crossed his arms. “I think you owe us some answers.”

O’Neill turned to Ardeth when the prince addressed him. "What do you want to know?"

"How did you come to be in the sacred area? Only my people are able to get that far inside, and none of the guards saw you enter the tunnels." Ardeth hid a sigh when he realized that while the tribe had obeyed him and set up a double watch, they were also watching the strangers carefully.

"Sir! We have to be careful what we tell them," Carter warned before he could say anything.

"Carter! If you give me one more lecture on that grandfather paradox thing, I swear I'll scream!" Jack said.

"But we're not supposed to say anything that could change the future!"

"You think they're going to believe it if we tell them the truth? Besides they've got a whole lot more guns than we do right now." He turned back to Ardeth. "Ok, here it goes! We travel to other places through a Stargate. Apparently, this one is located in your 'sacred area', specifically in the room you found us in. We got here—or rather now—by accident. And if you'll just let us back in there to use that device, I'm sure Carter will have us back home before dinner, and you will never have to worry about seeing us ever again."

Ardeth raised an eyebrow. "Unfortunately, that is not possible at the moment. Until the creature quiets down, no one will be going in there. There is too much risk."

Of course, that would be too simple wouldn't it? Jack moaned inwardly.

The boy studied the five adults carefully for a moment, then sighed. He couldn't exactly leave them here. "If you will come with me, I will have a tent prepared for you to stay in until we can figure out more about this situation."

The colonel said nothing as he led SG-1 to follow the prince, again with Rick behind them, still toting his shot gun. Rick's eyes flitted occasionally to the symbol on Teal'c's forehead. He kept running through all the cult sects he was familiar with since he became a Med-jai. It didn't match up to any of their symbols that he could immediately recall, but he would ask Ardeth about it later.

The young Med-jai brought SG-1 into the tent he shared with Rick. Thankfully, they had picked up that morning, so there was enough room inside for everyone. "Please, make yourself comfortable," the boy said, gesturing to the rugs and cushions spread across the sand.

O’Neill and his people sat down off to the side, kind of grouped together. Jack turned to Daniel who was intently studying the design on the rugs. "Okay, Daniel. You're the historian. Who are these guys?"

Daniel frowned, pushing his glasses back up his nose. "I'm not really sure, Jack. The tattoos on the one boy's face are in a dialect of Ancient Egyptian I haven't seen before. I suppose a rough translation would be 'Protector of Mankind,' but I can't be absolutely certain about that."

"That's a great help," Jack said slowly. "So, their clothing, their weapons, their accents, none of that tells you what race they are, if they're particularly aggressive, if they'll mind if I don't eat their food…? Nothing?"

"Well, I won't be offended if you don't like this food, since it was my cousins who sent it, but the stuff on that side of the tray is safe for human consumption," Ardeth's amused voice cut in as he lowered a tray full of food and drinks to the floor in front of them. "I am Ardeth Bey—I apologize for not introducing myself earlier." There was a screech from just outside of the tent, and the boy sighed. "Rick, would you let Horus in, please?"

Rick stood and lifted the door on the tent somewhat. The falcon swooped in gracefully and came to rest on Ardeth's shoulder, seeming to be both possessive and protective of the young prince. "And I'm Rick O'Connell," the other boy said as he sat down again next to Ardeth. He watched the newcomers carefully.

"You're an American," Jonas was willing to wager a guess. Over the past year or so, he had been serving as a member of SG-1 in Dr. Jackson’s place after he had ascended and even now continued to provide helpful insight even after Daniel’s return. From what he had studied of the archaeologist’s notes, the young Kelownan historian had learned much about the human cultures of the inhabitants of Earth. O’Connell’s accent, his skin color, his colloquialisms, and even his general way of carrying himself seemed to scream “American.”

"Yeah, but I've lived here in Egypt all my life."

Ardeth grinned at Rick. "I told you the outfit was very American. You ought to consider robes sometime—after all, Jamilia did make some for you." He turned to their guests and studied them carefully for a moment. "I am going to guess that you three—" he pointed to Jack, Sam, and Daniel, "are American, although you have spent a great deal of time out of that country. You two I cannot place."

All five froze. "Daniel," Jack said without turning to look at him, "Please tell me that Niirti has no history of her weird DNA voodoo in Egypt during the early 1900s."

"She doesn't"

"He's not a telepath?"

"No."

"Then how did he do that?"

Rick just about died laughing at that comment.

"It would seem the boy possesses an incredibly keen perception," Teal'c acknowledged with a nod of respect.

Ardeth looked at the five adults and Rick, a little confused by the discussion, then shrugged and poured himself some tea. "May I ask where you are from?" he asked Teal'c and Jonas, nudging Horus off his shoulder and over to the perch set up for him in the corner. It was awkward to eat with the bird sitting on his shoulder.

"I am from a world called Chulak," Teal'c answered.

"And the country I'm from on my homeworld is called Kelowna," Jonas said.

"Homeworld?" Rick asked, shaking his head in confusion.

"I think I remember mentions of travel to different worlds in one of the oldest history books in Father's library, but that happened thousands of years ago." Ardeth's brow furrowed as he tried to remember which book the information was from.

Rick frowned, more than a little skeptical of the idea. He had seen much since he had become a Med-jai: mummies raised, magical incantations in action, and other mysteries he could not sufficiently explain away. But traveling to other worlds? He doubted that was possible. But he didn't voice his opinion, knowing that they would see soon enough. "And you got here through a 'stargate'? What is that?"

Daniel glanced over at Jack, silently asking how much the man wanted them to share. Before the colonel could respond, a clang suddenly rang through the air.

Ardeth jumped to his feet, hand on his scimitar, looking furious. "Mummy's breath!" he spat and snatched an ancient book from a stand in the corner. "The creature broke out of the crypt! Horus, fly high and watch for the creature!"

Rick lifted the tent door again, allowing Horus to exit the tent and follow the prince’s orders. Then, he went to his bag in the corner, drawing from it three bandoleers. He donned two and tossed the third to Ardeth. Rick then pulled out four hand guns, shoving two into the holsters on either side of his chest and the other two into the back of his belt. Bending over, he took up his shot gun again. "How do you think he got out?" Rick asked as he ran back over to Ardeth's side.

"I don't know—I had the protections up, but he might have gone straight through the wall." Ardeth glanced over his shoulder at the strangers. "Either stay here or head for the mountains—this area is not safe any longer. Rick, find Gen and check the perimeter—I want everyone in pairs. I'll take Hakim and start searching the tunnels. Remember to call for help if you spot it."

“Be careful, Ardeth,” Rick said nodding before he ran off to find Gen.

Jack stood. "You know we have guns, too. Maybe we could help."

"Have you had any experience in dealing with the unusual?" Ardeth demanded, finding his gun and double checking to make certain that it was loaded.

Jack seemed amused by the question. "We've had some experience here and there."

"Just say 'yes', Jack, for once," Daniel groaned.

"Very well, you may come as long as you remember that I am in charge here. Will this be a problem?" Ardeth inquired, striding to the entrance of the tent and glancing back.

"Not since this is your turf and your bad guy," Jack sighed after a short moment, shaking his head. He made a motion, and all his teammates pulled out their firearms, except for Teal'c who seemed to be carrying some sort of strange staff.

Hurrying out into the bright desert sun, Ardeth snapped out a command in Arabic for Hakim to join them, then led the group hurriedly to the entrance to the tunnels. He placed his hand on the door, willing the defenses to acknowledge him and open. He didn't, however, expect the creature to be standing right there when the door opened.


	2. A Common Enemy

"Whoa!" Jack shouted in surprise as he and his team opened a volley at the man. But the creature held up his hand and touched a switch on a metal glove he was wearing. Suddenly, there was a shimmering wall of light that surrounded him. None of their bullets, nor even the fire that seemed to sprout from Teal'c’s staff, could hit the target. He glared at them all with a smug smile.

Ardeth scowled fiercely at the creature and fired two shots into the sand. "Horus! Alert Rick!" he yelled, and there was an answering screech from the air. The boy whipped out his scimitar in one smooth movement, balanced to attack, watching the creature warily. "How did you get through the defenses, creature?"

"Do you think your pathetic magic was powerful enough to stop a god?" he answered in a deep, seemingly distorted voice. His eyes glowed briefly just before he raised his glove unexpectedly and hit Ardeth with a shockwave.

Rolling with the shockwave, Ardeth came up and threw a knife at the man, gritting his teeth. But the knife bounced harmlessly off the shield protecting the creature. "You will not leave this place, Creature. By my blood, I invoke the ancient wards!" Ardeth drew the blade of his scimitar across the palm of his left hand, letting the blood drip to the sand. Immediately, blue-white energy sprang up around the ruins, closing them in.

The creature looked at the boy in amusement at his weak attempts to hold him. "Very clever, but it still will not save you from my wrath. You will all pay for your insolence."

"Oh, I don't think so," Jack said as he tossed a grenade at the goa'uld and immediately grabbed the prince and dragged him behind an out-cropping, Hakim and the rest of SG-1 joining him there.

"What is it with Americans and explosives?" Ardeth grumbled as the explosion rocked the air. The entrance to the tunnels was caved in, with the creature trapped behind the rocks. "This could get tricky."

Rick rounded the corner, seeing nothing but a cloud of dust at first. "Ardeth!" he called out his name. His brother didn’t generally carry dynamite, so he knew Ardeth didn't do that. "Ardeth!" he called again as he raced into the cloud, not caring whether or not it might be the smartest idea.

"Here, Rick! Follow the connection!" Ardeth answered, sending a wave of energy through the link the two boys had recently discovered that they shared.

SG-1 noted with surprise how quickly the other boy seemed to find them after that. Rick’s eyes swept over Ardeth for a second, making sure he was alright. He noticed the blood dripping from his brother’s hand to color the sand at his feet. But seeing that the cut seemed to be his only injury, he was relieved. "You alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine." Ardeth grabbed his handkerchief and twisted it around his hand. "The creature was waiting in the doorway when I released the locks on the doors. I put up the wards—it thinks the defenses are weak, but I would love to see it try to get through those wards. They are second only to the ones at Hamunaptra."

"I don't know," Jack said taking off his cap and running a hand through his short graying hair. "These pompous, over-dressed, style mongers have a way of surprising you sometimes. Okay, Teal'c, did you happen to recognize this snakehead?"

"I did, O'Neill. That was Sokar, a system lord who disappeared several thousand years ago."

Ardeth turned to SG-1. "You know about the creature? How?"

"We've run into a few of these guys. Unfortunately, they tend to get around. Man, why can't we have a nice, normal trip through the stargate every once in a while?" Jack groaned. "Okay, Daniel, what's the story with ol' Sokar?"

"Wait a minute! Get around?" Rick asked. He turned to Ardeth. "Wouldn't your people have been alerted of any activity in that area?"

"Yes—this particular creature is the only one of its kind that we keep guarded," Ardeth said, glaring again at the entrance to the tunnels. "We usually only have to deal with the undead, so I don't know what to do to, destroy that one or put it back to sleep."

"Oh, destroying it would probably be good," Daniel said, nodding.

Jack pointed at Daniel. "Now, see, that's something he and I agree on and, I gotta tell you, that never happens!"

Daniel turned a wry glare at Jack.

"O’Neill is correct," Teal'c agreed. "If he is not stopped, Sokar will enslave your world."

"See, now, how did I know he was going to say that?" Rick commented, shaking his head.

"Because that's what all of the creatures want to do. That is why we are the Med-jai," Ardeth sighed and started towards the rubble blocking the entrance. "Are there any tricks to destroying Sokar?" the boy asked, sheathing his scimitar and grumbling under his breath at the blood he accidentally wiped on his robes.

"Nothing fancy about it, so long as you can get around his technology," Carter said. “He's taken over a human host, who can be killed just like you or me. But since they have incredible regenerative properties, it usually takes more of what it would normally take to kill a human being."

"So in short, we should be okay as long as he doesn't have a sarcophagus," Jonas concluded.

Ardeth raised an eyebrow at that. "A sarcophagus? Like the one it has been sealed in for the past several thousand years?" he asked with a sigh.

SG-1 exchanged glances.

"Yeah, like that," Jack said, wincing slightly.

"Of course," Rick grated, running a hand over his face. He glanced over his shoulder. "So what do you think, Ardeth? Should we try digging him out to make sure he's dead?"

"Do these creatures have normal human needs for food and water?" Ardeth asked, studying the rock fall carefully.

"Yeah," Jack said, nodding

"Then, we will wait for now. It is almost sunset, and I do not want to have to chase that creature around after dark." With a sigh, the boy turned to glance around. "I want everyone to travel at least in pairs, preferably more. Double watches, relieving each other every two hours. The creature cannot escape. I need to send a note to Father—he will have felt me activate the wards."

The Med-jai warriors rushed to carry out his commands. But a few remained behind to escort Ardeth, Rick, and SG-1 back to the tent.

Once back in the tent, Ardeth grumbled under his breath as he realized that having guests meant he had to be polite and not flop onto his sleep mat. "Did you see any weaknesses in the structure when you circled it?" he asked Rick, gracefully sitting down on his favorite cushion.

"No, the perimeter was secure, and the main structure of the ruins is intact." Then, Rick grinned slightly as he pulled out extra sleeping mats for SG-1. "Well, aside from the crumbling entrance."

"You Americans and your explosives. Is it an addiction for all of you?" Ardeth demanded, rolling his eyes.

“Hey, if it works,” Rick replied defensively, but he could not hide the sly smile on his face.

Ardeth pulled the handkerchief away from his hand and sighed. "Rick, could you find out who the assigned healer is tonight? I may have overdone the blood wards a little."

Rick grimaced slightly when he noticed how deep the cut was that ran along his brother’s palm. But he nodded and, without a word, left the tent to fetch the healer.

"So you're in charge, and he's your second-in-command?" Jack asked, trying to figure out the hierarchal structure of this army.

Ardeth shrugged. "More or less. I am . . . well, I am prince of the twelve tribes of the Med-jai. The chief of this tribe is ill, so I was asked to lead his tribe while they fulfill their duty. Rick only just learned that he is a Med-jai, and I am helping teach him the sacred duty."

Jack nodded. That at least made more sense than any of the conclusions he was coming to on his own. But still, he was so young. If Charlie was still alive, he would have been close to this kid's age. Though from what he had seen of him so far, he seemed to know how to handle himself in a fight, even against a goa'uld.

Rick came back a moment later with another Med-jai. The man immediately inspected and began cleaning and bandaging the prince's hand.

Ardeth sat quietly and waited until the man was almost done before speaking. "I don't suppose I can convince you not to tell Amir about this?"

The man looked up and smiled slyly. "As you wish, My Prince. But if you sustain any injuries like your last adventure, you will not be able to hide it from him."

"Thank you for that. I want to stay out of Amir's tender care as much as possible." After the man left the tent, Ardeth turned back to his guests. "Is there anything I can get for you?"

Daniel rested his arms on his knees. "I'd like to ask a few questions about your people if you don't mind. When we explore, we meet many different people, and we can usually exchange ideas and information with the different kinds of cultures that we come into contact with."

Jack rolled his eyes. Here we go again, he thought. Daniel looked like a kid opening up presents at Christmas when he usually started down this trail, which had an uncanny knack for being both amusing and annoying to him at the same time. But since they had already faced yet another system lord, he really wasn't in the mood for this exchange-of-cultures bit.

Ardeth looked a bit wary at that. "Most information about my people cannot be shared with anyone who is not Med-jai. I will tell you what I can, but be warned, there is much that I cannot."

"Okay," Daniel nodded understandingly. "Well, uh, first off, what year exactly is it?"

"1917," Rick answered.

"1917… That's 11 years before they found the gate at Giza. It might be possible that it was moved between now and then. Okay, your people are the Med-jai," he asked recalling what Ardeth had called them earlier. "I’ve read only very remote historical references to your people, and those were thought to be unreliable at best. Your tribes are a desert-faring people, right?"

Ardeth nodded, grabbing a pastry from the tray and a cup of tea. "Yes, we are. The Med-jai are direct decedents from Pharaoh’s bodyguards."

"From any one particular Pharaoh or Pharaohs in general?"

"Pharaoh Seti I." Looking up as Horus suddenly swooped into the tent, Ardeth winced. "Oh, right. Pardon me a moment, I need to inform my father of what is going on before he sends the entire army here to check on me."

Daniel nodded understandingly as Ardeth left to send the message. Teal'c raised an eyebrow, noting with amusement that Rick, even though he seemed to be sitting in a comfortable position on the floor, all his muscles were still subtly tensed on a heightened state of alert. Just as the prince had been. And the American was also still armed to the teeth.

Ardeth came back a moment later and paused to nudge Rick with his toe. "It's time for bed. No sleeping with your guns, and only one knife. We have third watch, and Gen will wake us for it."

Rick pulled out his guns, setting them on the rug beside the mat so they’d be readily accessible in case the creature had somehow made it back to his sarcophagus and decided to pay them a visit. Jack just stared as he removed gun after knife after gun after knife and finally took one last penknife out of his bandoleer and shoved it into his boot.

“Packing some heat, are you?” Jack asked. Rick could only stare confusedly in reply.

“That’s Jack’s way of saying he’s impressed with the number of weapons you have,” Daniel translated for him.

Rick laughed. He hadn’t realized how large the collection he had built up over the last month had grown.

“There is a reason I refuse to sleep near him unless he disarms.” Ardeth’s voice was dry, and he removed his own weapons. The younger boy didn’t carry nearly as many as Rick, but he was heavily armed for someone his age. After getting kidnapped by the temple guards, both boys were careful to always be prepared.

"No, I think sometimes he doesn't want to sleep in the same room with me when I'm heavily armed because I'm not that much of a morning person," Rick commented mischievously as he lay down on his mat.

The younger boy threw a pastry at Rick and grinned as it bounced off of his head. "Yes, you always try to shoot me or stab me when all I do is wake you so that you won't be late for lessons. Truly, my friend, is that any way to treat your prince?" Ardeth asked, trying very hard not to smile.

Rick laughed lightly at this. "I apologize, My Liege!" he said, propping himself up on his elbows to make a very overdramatic bow. "But I take no responsibility for my actions before the sun rises. I will however be certain to make an effort on your behalf not to decapitate you." He looked at Ardeth, seeming to watch his reaction to see if that would be satisfactory to the royal Med-jai.

"Thank you, my friend. I appreciate that you will try not to decapitate me. I will be certain to tell my father this," Suddenly remembering that they had an audience, Ardeth glanced over at SG-1 with a slight smile.

But Daniel was looking quite pointedly at Jack. And Jack was doing his best not to meet his accusing eyes. "Jack, wouldn't you say their situation sounds a bit familiar?"

Jack seemed to squirm uncomfortably.

"Jack?"

"Hey, you should know better than to wake me at four with one of your historical discoveries!"

"That doesn't justify you forcing me out of your room at gun point! And besides, I didn’t realize what time it was."

Jack’s eyes narrowed in frustration. “Next time, check the clock!” he grated out.

Both boys were watching the scene with interest, snickering quietly. Jonas laughed.

"Is that why you always come to my room now, Daniel?" The young alien asked, watching the two older men glare at each other.

"Well, I had to tell someone! It was the greatest find we had ever uncovered about Ancient civilizations, and you can definitely appreciate it better then Jack!"

Carter was wincing. Teal'c smiled broadly, shaking his head. Even he knew better than to rouse O'Neill at such an early hour.

“Then why didn’t you just go to his room in the first place?” Jack asked indignantly.

“Because I needed a ‘go’ on the mission from you!”

Ardeth stifled a yawn and slid off his outer robe, folding it on top of his weapons. "You are welcome to stay up and talk, but please do so quietly. Both Rick and I need to sleep, as we have night watch duty in a few hours."

"Yeah, Daniel, don't be rude," Jack said, jumping on the bandwagon. But the glare he got from Daniel told him that they had not finished this little discussion. The colonel laid down on his sleep mat grumbling. The rest of SG-1 began to settle in for the night as well.

Blinking at the colonel, Ardeth wondered if the man realized he was acting like a spoiled child. Then, with a shrug, the boy blew out most of the lamps and settled down on his own mat.

Rick was still chuckling from their argument even as he fell asleep. He woke up at the sound of boots scuffing against the sand outside the tent. He sat up, at first thinking it was Gen coming to wake them for the third watch.

Ardeth was also awake and looking very tense. He shook his head slightly. "It's not Gen," he breathed, sitting up and grabbing his scimitar.

"One of ours?" he asked in a whisper, pulling his weapons stash closer, careful not to make a sound as he lifted a pair of hand guns from the top of the pile.

"I think it is the creature." Ardeth rolled to his feet and edged closer to the tent walls. The lamps had gone out, so the only light came from the full moon.

Rick followed, standing next to his friend. On the other side of the tent, Teal'c raised his head. He could sense the presence of the Goa'uld circling the tent.

Crouching by the tent flap, Ardeth waited. Once the creature circled the tent again, he would attack. The alarm hadn't been sounded, and the boy had to push back his concerns about the men who had been on watch.

Teal'c quickly woke O'Neill, motioning for his friend not to make any noise. The colonel and Teal'c began to wake the others, moving without a sound.

Rick tracked the movement of the Goa'uld, carefully stilling his breathing as Ardeth had taught him to catch the faintest sounds he made. The tent wall was not as secured here as it was in other places. He could roll out and get to his feet, coming at their enemy from another angle. But he waited to see what the prince would do before he committed to that plan.

Tensing even more when the faint footsteps grew closer, Ardeth prepared to lunge for the creature. He knew the pattern of every one of the Med-jai warriors' footsteps in this tribe and didn't recognize these almost arrogant crunches. The boy gasped in surprise when there was sudden silence and a hand thrust into the tent, seized a handful of his shirt, and yanked him out into the desert night.

No!" Rick screamed as he jumped out after him. SG-1 was right behind him. Rick aimed for the creature, but the Goa'uld held Ardeth in his grasp between him and the humans.

"One more move and the boy dies!" he threatened. He held his ribbon device poised over Ardeth's forehead.

"Let him go, right now!" Rick demanded, rage and desperation in his voice.

By this time, many Med-jai warriors had gathered at the sounds of the struggle and raised voices. All had weapons drawn and raised. Gen and Hakim stood watching the scene, having just rounded the corner to come and rouse the boys for watch when they saw Sokar clutching the prince. Their guns were up in a heartbeat, their faces steeled against the creature but inwardly fearing for Ardeth’s life.

Ardeth's scimitar lay in the sand, just out of reach, and the boy scowled up at Sokar. "Do you truly think that taking me captive will stop them from fulfilling their duty?" the boy demanded, raising his voice enough so that everyone could hear him.

No, no! Rick pleaded inwardly. Please don't let it come to that! He knew if they were forced to make that choice, they would have to sacrifice Ardeth, but he would rather die himself than lose his brother.

The Goa'uld was still clutching Ardeth, backing away to the ruins. The man smiled cruelly. "They will not have a choice." With a quick movement of his hand, he activated his invisibility device.

Rick’s cry of despair filled the air a split-second before it was drowned out by gunfire as he pulled the triggers on his guns along with the rest of the Med-jai warriors. They could not allow the creature to escape. But the bullets zinged through empty space, and Ardeth and the creature never reappeared. Rick fell to his knees, his mousy brown hair falling forward and obscuring his haunted eyes from view, exhaustion and helplessness surging through him. “No!” he murmured, gripped with fear.


	3. Sokar's Lair

"I hate it when they do that!" Jack snarled and whirled to face the furious, shocked warriors. "We need to get back into those tunnels! Find out if there's a ring platform, now!"

The warriors looked at Gen and Hakim, the two warriors who were assigned command upon the instances of Ardeth’s absence. After a moment and an exchange of glances, the Med-jai nodded. It seemed that these strangers had faced creatures like this before, and right now, with the prince taken, every second counted. They would take any advantage these new comers could give them.

After a minute, Gen noticed that Rick was missing. He groaned, immediately knowing what had happened. That boy had a lot to learn about being a Med-jai. He was loyal, but Rick almost always took unnecessary risks. Though he had to admit, his methods usually had an odd tendency to work out.... for the most part. While he was very fond of Rick and would do anything to protect him as he would for Ardeth, he couldn't worry about his safety now. He mobilized the men into units, picked up his machine gun and scimitar, and walked over to O'Neill to collaborate with him on a plan to sweep the ruins.

When the creature activated a device that made them turn invisible, it had startled Ardeth badly. He hesitated for a moment, but then realized that this could be a serious problem. He started yelling, hoping to give the Med-jai something to shoot at, but Sokar clapped a hand over his mouth. The boy fought hard against the creature, using all of the tricks he had learned, but was no match for the brute strength the goa’uld possessed.

Sokar finally reached an area slightly off to the side of the ruins. Pressing a gem on his ribbon device, suddenly, circles of stone rose from the ground, surrounding them like a cage. Then, there was a blinding flash of light. Once the light was gone and Ardeth could see again, the stones fell back into the earth, and they were in a completely different setting. They were back in the room with the sarcophagus where the creature had been sealed all this time.

Finally managing to get some leverage, Ardeth twisted away from Sokar, backing away from the creature. He glared at it but didn't reach for the dagger in his boot. He would save that hidden weapon for later. "Now what, creature? The warriors have this place surrounded."

Sokar smiled, lifting his chin arrogantly. "I have brought you here to give you a chance to repent and save your soul. Remove the shield you have raised over my palace, and I will be merciful and grant you and your friends forgiveness."

Ardeth stared at Sokar, incredulous. "You expect me to break every vow I have ever made to fulfill the sacred duty of the Med-jai? No, creature—I swear this, you will either be destroyed or put into your eternal sleep!"

Sokar's eyes glowed as he looked at the boy. He couldn't let it show that this pitiful magic that Ardeth had enacted was keeping him from ringing away to shuttle craft he had in orbit. He had spent hours trying to find a way to through it or to destroy it, but to no avail. He stepped closer to his captive. "You're defiant. You Tauri are all the same. Always resisting at first, but in the end, you always break. I am not requesting this of you. This is a command from your god! Deactivate the shield," he said in a threatening tone as he loomed over Ardeth, easily dwarfing the boy with the height of his host.

Standing to his full height, Ardeth's eyes were fierce and proud. "You may break me, but I will not lower the defenses." The boy reached behind him, feeling for the wall. If he could find some of the triggers, he could activate enough traps to give even this creature a difficult time.

Sokar's eyes narrowed, but after a while, he chuckled and tilted his head as if obliging a favor. "Have it your way." He raised his glove, and a beam of light stretched from the jewel across his palm and bored down into Ardeth's forehead.

The boy's breath hitched, but he kept himself from falling to his knees or crying out in pain by sheer will. Instead, he narrowed his focus to closing off the connections he had with Rick and his father, so that they wouldn't share in the pain.

Rick, who had managed to make his way into the ruins with out being stopped by the Med-jai soldiers, had been using the connection to try and see if he could figure out where the creature had taken Ardeth. He had made it through the first set of corridors when the connection suddenly disappeared but not before he felt a sharp burst of pain. Stunned momentarily, he was knocked to the ground. After he rose to his feet again, he searched for the connection but couldn't find it. His heart hammered in his chest as he pushed back down the sudden fear that rose into his heart that he might have just felt his brother's death. He shook his head, unable to even consider the possibility. He tried to discern in his mind the specific direction he had felt Ardeth's presence in. Once he had established that, he made a bee-line in that direction, praying that he found Ardeth alive when he reached him.

Sokar took an evil pleasure in watching his victim in so much agony. Even though Ardeth tried to hide it, he had himself been on the end of one of these devices and knew the level of pain he was causing the boy.

When Sokar finally released him, Ardeth collapsed to his knees, breathing harshly. The boy stayed still for a moment, shivering in reaction, then closed his eyes tightly and started concentrating on activating the protections. Hopefully, the creature would think he was just scared to look up again.

Sokar circled the boy, pleased to see him in such a weakened state. The prince had strength, but he was only a boy, and soon, he would do anything he asked just to make the pain stop. He would see to that. "Consider carefully, child, what you are up against. You fight because you think you can win, but I can assure you that nothing you can do will be able stop my power. If you continue to defy me, I'll make sure that you and your friends suffer unspeakable torment."

Activating the defenses took most of the strength that Ardeth had left after the torture. He fell onto the sand just as a rumble filled the air, and the ground shook. Slowly, the boy rolled over so he was facing Sokar. "You may torture me, you may even break me and kill me, but I am Med-jai. The tribes will stop you."

Sokar cast his eyes about, looking for the source of the sound. He tried to keep the fear out of his eyes, but some of it still showed through. "What is this? Another pitiful attempt to thwart me?" He picked the boy up by the collar of his robes. Holding him close, he sneered in his face. "No matter what your friends have started, no one will be able to save you nor will they be able to stop me from reclaiming this backwards planet as my own."

"Want a bet?" Rick said as he quickly emptied his clips into the unsuspecting Goa'uld. The creature went down, dropping Ardeth as he collapsed to the floor, groaning in pain. Rick didn't waste time kidding himself that he had actually killed it, but knelt by his brother. “Ardeth?” he breathed as he checked his pulse.

"Help me up, Rick. We must get out quickly—I activated the rest of the defenses. Watch out for the traps; they're all in the usual formation."

Rick helped Ardeth up and supported him by pulling the prince's arm over his shoulder. Together, he and Ardeth ran down the passageways, a layout of the tunnels and locations of the various traps that Ardeth had been showing to him over the past few days played out in his head.

As the two boys ran through the corridors, they rounded a corner and nearly ran into SG-1. Ardeth was sagging in Rick's grip, struggling to stay conscious.

All of SG-1's and the Med-jai guns were raised at the sudden movement.

"Hold your fire," Jack shouted immediately once he saw who it was. Gen had shouted the order in Arabic at the exact same moment. The Med-jai leader rushed forward to help the prince, but Jack caught him and held him back. "T?"

"I do not sense the presence of a Goa'uld in either of them," the Jaffa replied to the unspoken question.

Rick shook his head, almost angry at this point. "What? Are you blind? Do we look like Sokar to you?!"

"Peace, my brother," Ardeth whispered, using Rick to try to pull himself up more. "The defenses are completely up. That will delay the creature a little. And he can't get through the blood wards."

Hakim nodded. He yelled out orders in Arabic to fall back to the entrance of the ruins. It would not be safe in there for them anymore, and they needed to seal of all the escape points that the creature could use. Rick shifted his hold on Ardeth to help him stand better, taking a moment while they weren't on the run to see if his brother was injured. While he couldn't see any wounds, cuts, or bruises, he could see the exhaustion on his face and knew Ardeth would have to be in a tremendous amount of pain to lean on him as heavily as he did now. He helped Ardeth walk as they all started to make their way out of the ruins.

Once they were safely out, Ardeth pulled away from Rick and turned to face the ruins again. "I'm going to seal the entrances—this will probably knock me out, though."

Rick's face was grim, but he nodded and stood close behind his brother to catch him if he fell.

Raising a trembling hand, Ardeth touched the glyphs engraved on the door and closed his eyes. It took him much longer than normal, but a deep grating sound echoed through the desert as all of the doors sealed shut. With the last of his energy drained, Ardeth passed out.

Rick stood there and let the prince fall back into his arms. He bowed slightly under his weight but held onto him tightly, unwilling to let him fall to the ground. Gen walked over and picked the prince up in his arms. Rick let him take Ardeth but walked with him as he brought the prince back to the tent and laid him on his sleeping mat.

Jack turned to the rest of SG-1. "Carter, take Jonas and Daniel and help keep an eye on the kid. T and I are going to see if we can find the ring platform he's using to get in and out of the ruins."

"Yes, sir," Sam said, nodding to Daniel and Jonas. She led them back to the tent. Almost half the tribe was gathered around the outside of it—they had appointed themselves to guard the prince.

They parted to let their allies into the tent where the healer from before, Gen and Rick were kneeling by Ardeth's side. The healer frowned as he examined his sleeping form.

"What is it, Tahir," Gen asked with misgivings.

But Tahir shook his head, confused. "I can find no injuries to treat. His body is under a great amount of stress, but I cannot find its source." Gen looked between the healer and the prince, a puzzled expression on his face.

Rick shook his head emphatically. "He was in pain. Blinding pain," he insisted, his voice wavering slightly.

Daniel knelt next to Ardeth and turned the boy's face more towards the light so that they could see the faint burn on his forehead. "Sokar used a ribbon device. Ardeth will be fine after resting for a bit, though he will have a headache."

Rick looked at Daniel. “You’ve seen these devices before?” he asked, feeling a little better that at least one of them seemed to know something about what they were dealing with.

Daniel smiled ruefully. “Actually, many Goa’uld have used them on me.” He looked up at Rick and, seeing the concern the boy’s blue eyes, he placed a hand on his shoulder. “He’s going to be okay.”

Rick nodded as he seemed to visibly relax a little. After a moment, he took the empty clips out of his guns and started to reload them, giving himself something to focus on while they waited. Once he had finished that, he carefully took Ardeth’s scimitar out. Before he had run into the ruins after the prince, he had taken his sword and tucked it into his belt in case he needed it when he found him. Holding it across his lap, he carefully began to polish the blade.

“That scimitar is beautiful. What do the engravings on the hilt mean?” Jonas asked, sitting down beside Rick to look over the markings on the weapon. Sam kept one hand on her gun, but also settled down, knowing that there would be some noise before an enemy could get all the way to the tent.

Daniel immediately came over to look also, intrigued. Jonas almost smirked. It was quite amusing to send Dr. Jackson off on one of his tangents. Of course, Jack pretended to hate it, but the colonel was still too relieved over having the archaeologist back to make a big fuss about it. Jack made a big deal about having to put up with both Daniel and Jonas, but when the young alien offered to leave, he had nearly been kidnapped by the colonel until he promised never to bring it up again.

“These markings are the same dialect of Ancient Egyptian as the tattoos on everyone’s faces. It seems to be a genealogy, I think,” Daniel commented, squinting at the scimitar.

Rick smiled softly. "That would make sense. This is the sword of Ardeth's ancestors. It has been passed down the royal line over thousands of years, I'm pretty sure. His dad just gave it to him a short while ago, at least two full years before he was supposed to get it when he comes of age." Rick beamed at the memory and at how excited Ardeth had been that night. He was very proud of his brother.

Daniel pushed his glasses back up his nose, now completely enthralled. "You mean that these tribes don't normally have boys your ages out fighting? Why are you and Ardeth an exception?"

Rick looked at Daniel carefully. He wasn't sure how much he was supposed to tell him about the Med-jai ways. The only way he had been allowed to know what he had learned about them was because of the discovery that he was Med-jai. "His training's been accelerated, because one day he will be king. But he received the sword early because he.... saved the world, even though he and I had been captured by the enemies of our tribe." Rick was still getting used to the fact that he had a tribe, so it sounded a little odd to him when he said it, but it was a good kind of odd.

"He performed with grace under fire," Carter mused, using the euphemism she was used to. It sounded right to Rick, so he nodded.

Jonas stifled a smile as he realized how thrilled Daniel was at these new discoveries. He guessed that as soon as they got back to their own time, Daniel would go running off to Egypt to find out more about the Med-jai.

"How old do you have to be to come of age?" the archaeologist asked, watching as Rick finished polishing the blade and placed it right next to Ardeth, where the boy would be able to find it as soon as he woke up.

"Sixteen," Rick said as he started to gear up again, since he hadn't had time before the goa'uld had attacked. Once he was done, he looked around for something else to do, but everything was taken care of, so all there was to do now was to wait. He sighed, deciding that waiting was absolutely the worst aspect of life. But focusing on the questions Daniel asked him while Ardeth slept helped to keep him from becoming restless.

Several hours passed before Ardeth stirred. The boy woke up all at once and tried to sit up, only to collapse back against his sleeping mat. "Oh, ow," he muttered, shielding his eyes against the light from the candles that aggravated his headache.

Rick jumped immediately to his side. "Hey, easy buddy. Take it slow," he advised quietly, helping to support him as he sat up again, cautiously this time.

Daniel winced as he recognized the expression on Ardeth's face. "Yeah," he said nodding in sympathy, "I hate those things."

"I'm not certain which is worse—the headache from that horrible device, or the reaction headache from activating all of the defenses at the same time." Ardeth buried his face in his knees for a moment before sighing and forcing himself up. He glanced down at his scimitar and flashed a smile at Rick. "Thank you for retrieving it and cleaning it, my friend."

"No problem," Rick said, smiling back as he handed it to Ardeth. "Our friends were quite impressed with it," he said, nodding to Sam, Daniel, and Jonas.

Daniel nodded enthusiastically.

Suddenly, a voice was heard. "Carter?" It sounded like O'Neill, but it was coming from inside the tent, and he wasn't there.

Rick cast about in confusion and stared at Sam as she started talking to her vest. "Yes, sir?"

"We can't find the where the ring platform is hidden. Is the prince up yet?"

"Yes, sir."

"Ask him if he or his people know where it is."

Ardeth and Rick were both staring at Sam in complete confusion. "What sort of magic is this?" Ardeth asked, almost forgetting about his headache in light of the new puzzle.

"Oh," Carter said, waving her hand reassuringly as she opened a pouch in her vest, pulling a small device out. "It's a walkie-talkie. We use it to talk to people far away. Mainly, we use it so we can coordinate our people to search for things or organize attacks." She held it out to show it to them for a second. "Look, the goa'uld that took you, he's got to have a way to get in and out of the ruins that allows him to make it to and from of the camp without detection. We call it a ring platform. There's usually a circle on the ground where it is, five or six rings come out of the ground, there's a flash of light and then you're transported somewhere else. Have you or any of your tribe seen anything like that?"

"So that's how we ended up in the burial chamber! That part confused me. I can show you where the flash of light happened," Ardeth offered, standing slowly and carefully.

Carter nodded. She picked up the walkie-talkie again to talk to O'Neill. "Colonel, Ardeth knows where it is."

"Alright, have him take you to it. We'll triangulate your position and meet you there."

"Be cautious, Sokar may be laying in wait with his cloaking device," Teal'c's voice now came through the speaker.

"Neat! We should get some of those!" Rick said, still fascinated by the device. He grinned wickedly to think not only of the device's strategic value, but of all the tricks they could play on Evy and Ardeth's cousins with a set of those.

Ardeth snickered. "I know what you are planning, Rick. It would make ambushing the cousins much easier." The boy shoved his scimitar into his belt and pulled his robes back on, enjoying the warmth they provided. "This way."

Rick chuckled but was not surprised how easily Ardeth could read his mind. Sometimes, he wondered how deep the potential of the bond between them was. Often, he was convinced that they could speak to each other through their thoughts. He pulled his shot gun from its strap strung over his shoulder. If they ran into the creature this time, he wanted something more substantial to hit him with.

"How fast can the creature heal?" Ardeth asked as he led the small group across the desert over to where the confrontation with Sokar had taken place. "Rick put several rounds into him."

"Well, usually it depends on the severity of the injury," Jonas explained. "Since bullet holes probably take less time to heal than the damage he suffered from the grenade and then the resulting rock slide, he's probably due to come out some time soon."

Rick scoffed at the idea that anyone could think that bullet wounds took a short time to heal, his own experience in such matters still fresh in his mind. "So this sarcophagus makes it to where it's as if he's never been injured after I emptied both cartridges into him?" Jonas nodded. Rick turned to Ardeth, "Okay buddy, if we do end up destroying this guy, you and I need to get our hands on this sarcophagus!"

Daniel winced. "Oooh, no. I don't think that's a good idea."

"From what I remember of the history book, the sarcophagus is almost as evil as the creature. We won't be using it, ever," Ardeth told Rick firmly and stopped, eyeing their location. He moved a few paces to the right and nodded. "Right here is where we were standing when we were transported away."

Daniel began brushing through the sand to find the outline of the ring while Carter and Jonas kept their guns raised and alert in case the goa'uld was setting a trap for them. Rick kept his gun raised as well, determined that this time nothing was going to happen to Ardeth. After a second, Daniel found part of the ring. Brushing away the sand, he traced all the way around the outline until the platform was revealed. "Well, I guess we found it," Jonas said.

"Yeah," Daniel said uneasily, standing and glancing around. "So, where's Sokar?"

The young Med-jai prince was looking around uneasily. "Somewhere near—Rick, can you sense the evil?"

"Yeah," he breathed as he raised his shotgun and kept his guard up. "He’s watching us." Rick could feel Sokar's eyes on them as they all cast about looking for him.

"I wish I had time to test you all to see if you have the heart of a Med-jai. That would make this much easier," Ardeth commented to Daniel, scanning the area again.

Daniel logged that away. He would have to remember that later. The very idea sent a thrill of excitement through him, but he kept his mind focused on trying to find the goa'uld. But as soon as the threat had been eliminated, he was determined to undergo whatever test he had to find out what ritual Ardeth was talking about.

"Yo," they heard Jack calling from a distance. Everyone looked in the direction of his voice to see him and Teal'c approaching. "So, what did we find?"

It was in that moment that Sokar struck, taking advantage of the distraction.

Ardeth saw movement out of the corner of his eye, just a slight shimmer in the air, and didn't hesitate. He tackled Rick, protecting his brother against the blast from the strange weapon, and threw his knife in the direction in which he had seen the movement.

Since the use of the cloak prevented him from using the shield, the knife cut deep into Sokar's side. He growled in rage, both at the knife wound he had just sustained and the fact that he couldn't seem to gain any ground against these people, especially that Med-jai. They had always been a threat to the Goa'uld. Seti and his followers had organized them too well. He was not about to let some whelp and his soldiers defeat him.

"He's got a zat!" Jack called out.

"Thanks, buddy," Rick said to Ardeth as he rose to a kneeling position, opening fire in the direction that Ardeth had thrown the blade. Teal'c laid fire with his staff weapon and the rest of SG-1 opened up with their semi-automatics.

"Be careful, my friend." Ardeth warned, rolling to his feet, then yelping and flinging himself back down as a zat blast nearly got him. "What is that weapon he's using?"

"It's a zat," Daniel called out. "One shot stuns, two shots kill."

"So, nothing good," Rick commented dryly as he took a bullet from between his teeth to reload the cartridge. But what they didn't realize was that Sokar was trying to herd them closer to the center of the ring. Rick picked Ardeth up with a fistful of his robes and pushed him behind himself, trying to get to the safety of what remained of the stone structure on the opposite side. Staying between Sokar and Ardeth, he backed up, firing his gun as he went. Both boys reached the circle, having to cross it to reach the cover on the other side. The second they crossed the threshold, Sokar activated the device. Seeing the outer layer retract, Jack called out a warning. Rick, already knowing something was wrong, pushed Ardeth as hard as he could, getting the prince outside rings just as they rose from the ground.

Falling to the sand, Ardeth whirled just as Rick disappeared from sight. He spat out several curses in the various languages he knew, startling SG-1. He stood up, scimitar angled defensively in front of him, and faced the direction the shots had come from. "That was a very bad move, creature!"

Sokar, still invisible, shook his head. It had not been his intent. He had wanted Ardeth to be caught in the rings, but this could work to his advantage as well. From the way these two boys defended each other, he knew they meant a great deal to one another. So, he would play along as he tried to make his way to the rings himself. "I told you that your friends would suffer for your impudence. Lower the shield, and I will spare him the agony of a slow death."

Ardeth rolled his eyes at that. "You are out here, and I am between you and your transporter. My friend knows where the traps are, and he can easily get out of there while you try to find a way in.

"Do you think I left the sanctuary of the ruins again without setting a few traps of my own, especially after the trouble you two have caused me? Besides, I am a god. My powers span through out the universe. I can reach him in that room even with the current distance between us."

"And yet despite all this 'power', you've been trapped in a box downstairs in the basement for the past, oh, three thousand years," Jack chimed in.

The young Med-jai laughed at that. "My people work hard to prevent evil creatures like you from causing any problems."

"And yet, here I am," Sokar replied tauntingly. His voice was coming from a slightly different direction now. He was moving. "And nothing you or your pathetic tribe can do will stop me now. Soon, you will all curse Seti for ever daring to oppose me, but not before your brother does."

Ardeth's eyes narrowed, and he started for the ring device, intending to plant himself right on top of it. He wasn't about to let Rick face the creature alone.

But Jack grabbed him and pulled him back behind the rock he was crouched behind. "What are you doing? You're giving him exactly what he wants! He's trying to provoke you into turning yourself in!"

"I am not letting the brother of my soul face that creature alone!" Ardeth told the man fiercely, trying to twist away.

Jack tried to hold him down but was not aware of all the ways Med-jai knew on how to free themselves. He couldn't keep his grasp on the prince for long. "No! Ardeth!" he called out after the boy.

Ardeth stopped just short of the ring platform and titled his head to the side, listening carefully. Just because he was willing to let the goa'uld have him to protect Rick didn't mean that he wouldn't take another option if he could.

Sokar was only a yard away from the ring platform. If he could move quietly enough, he could stun Ardeth and activate the rings, transporting them both inside the ruins. As quietly as he could, he raised his zat with one hand, pointing it at the boy, the activator for the ring transport in his other hand.

Just then, there was a screech from the sky, and Ardeth jerked in surprise. His foot slipped, and he landed hard on his side. A white falcon swooped down on Sokar, screaming angrily at him.

Seeing Horus dive a few times at something a couple of feet away, Jack knew it had to be Sokar. "Open fire!" Jack called.

Sokar snarled. Abandoning the invisibility cloak for the shielding device, he dove for the rings, activating them.

As soon as he saw the man, Ardeth lunged for him, scimitar extended. He didn't expect to be caught up in the rings, though.

The goa'uld looked up slightly surprised to see the boy, but a cruel smile lit his face as they were enveloped in a cloud of white.


	4. Chapter 4

Rick had been stuck in the chamber for a while. When he had first arrived, he raised his shot gun, aiming for anything that might threaten. But finding nothing in the chamber and feeling nothing inherently evil immediately present in the room, he began searching for a way to get out. He was not meeting with much success between the spells Ardeth had cast to keep the creature in and the defenses he was willing to bet that the creature had raised to keep them out. Cursing in frustration, he looked around the room for anything he could use that might activate the rings again, but there was nothing in the room as far as he could see aside from the sarcophagus. As he took time to think about what to do next, he reloaded his shotgun. Suddenly, he heard a noise from the other end of the room. He whirled, aiming his shotgun into the shadows. There was a sound of quieted breathing emanating from the darkness that sent a chill down his spine.

After several long minutes, a strange, frightening creature stepped out of the shadows, glaring down at Rick. It was much taller than the boy and almost as terrifying as mummies that were awake.

Rick, in shock and fear, froze for a moment. To the boy, the creature looked somewhat reminiscent of a crocodile but many times larger and much more feral in appearance. And it was walking upright on its back legs. Finally, Rick came to his senses and pulled the trigger. But the hesitation cost him. The creature sprang forward, grabbing his gun as he pounced on him, knocking Rick to the ground with his attacker on top of him. Because it had moved when he had fired, the shot had grazed it, only enraging the beast further. This thing, whatever it was, was impossibly strong and didn’t even seem slowed by the wound he had just given it. And now the only thing between it and Rick was the gun he held across his chest, which he desperately tried to keep there. But the creature ripped it from his hands and threw it aside, growling threateningly at its prey. Rick tried to reach for his knives, his guns, anything to defend himself with, but under the creature’s weight, his arms were hopelessly pinned to the ground.

The beast growled lowly, its putrid breath nearly making Rick gag. After a moment, it scrambled upright, keeping Rick's hands pinned together behind his back. With another growl, it dragged him over to a small hole in the wall and pushed him through into a chamber that didn't look anything like the other Med-jai created tunnels.

Rick stared around at his new surroundings. It was a small den with human remains littering the floor. At the moment, Rick didn't know which concerned him more, the idea that they might start moving, or the question of what killed them in the first place. Then after his eyes adjusted more to the poor lighting, he noticed there were small holes about the size of coins drilled all around the room, each hole a certain height from the floor. Not getting a good feeling about what he saw here, Rick turned to try and crawl back out but was dismayed to see that the creature he had fought was standing guard outside the door.

It kicked at him, hissing a warning, and forced him back away from the entrance. Moments later, there was a bright flash of light that almost blinded Rick even inside this side chamber.

Rick rubbed his eyes as they watered from the sensory overload. As he waited for his vision to clear again, he heard an evil voice chuckling. Sokar! If he was laughing, it couldn’t be a good sign. He kept silent as he tried to get as close to the entrance as he could without drawing the attention of the monster standing watch.

“I knew I’d get you down here one way or another,” Sokar’s voice drifted to his ears. Rick had been about to make a smart remark in reply when he heard a second voice that made him realize with dread that Sokar was not speaking to him.

“Well, I am fairly certain you didn’t intend to have a sword through your shoulder!” Ardeth’s voice was slightly breathless, but still proud and defiant. “Rick! Where are you?” the boy called in French, one of the languages the boys were studying together. He hoped that Sokar didn’t know very many languages—it would give them an advantage.

“Right here,” Rick replied in the same language, calling through the tunnel and backing slightly away when the creature tried to kick him again. “Be careful though. It looks like Sokar has a pet or something.”

"Are you still armed?" Ardeth winced as Sokar yanked the scimitar out of his shoulder and wrenched it away from the boy, tossing it into the corner. "My scimitar is out of reach now."

Rick threw himself to the floor, despite the corpses that he landed on, and threw a long dagger to where it would land close to Ardeth. Then in a heartbeat, he pulled two of his pistols and began firing at Sokar as best he could from the limited vantage point the hole gave him.

Ducking away from Sokar, Ardeth snatched up the dagger and ran over to where Rick was. He stayed out of the line of sight so that Rick would have a clear shot at Sokar, then skidded to a halt, eyes wide, when he saw the Unas. "Mummy's breath!" the boy breathed, backing away from the beast as it turned towards him.

The Unas growled threateningly as it advanced on the prince. He circled Ardeth, stretching to intimidate the boy with his height.

Ardeth immediately dove for its legs, hoping to hamstring it, but the scales turned his knife. The boy twisted away before it could grab him and backed towards the wall. "This is a problem."

Up until now, Rick had been firing away at Sokar, but only two bullets hit him before he had his shield up. Hearing Ardeth words, he stopped firing for a moment and threw one of his guns out of the hole. But before he could fire again, he was hit with the impact wave from the ribbon device, slamming him into the opposite wall and knocking him unconscious.

"Rick!" Ardeth called out desperately and clenched his jaw when there was no answer. He turned a little so that he could keep a wary eye on both Sokar and Sokar's pet. Shifting his grip on the knife, the boy kept himself poised to throw it if he had to.

Sokar went over and reached inside the small hole, dragging Rick's body out. Then laying him across the floor, he picked up a metal stick that was about as long as a sword. The three points at its end seemed bent beyond usefulness.

Ardeth's eyes narrowed. From the smirk the goa’uld wore, the stick was nothing good. Twisting away from the beast that was trying to back him into a corner, the boy ran over to where Sokar was standing over Rick. He thrust himself between the creature and his brother.

Sokar scoffed, amused. "You wish to go first? Very well." He let the tip lightly touch Ardeth, sending a surge of pain through the boy.

Ardeth grabbed for the device, hoping to twist it away from the creature and destroy it. But Sokar wrenched the device from his grasp and struck him with it. The Unas came up behind the prince and held his arms tightly behind his back.

Taking a deep breath, the boy straightened as best as he was able. All of his old injuries, especially the ones from the temple guards and Kasim, were aching from that short touch from Sokar’s newest device. Ardeth looked around the room, trying to think of some way to get Rick and himself out of there, or let someone in to help them.

Sokar circled around his prisoners, making certain to jab Rick with the torture stick as he passed his prone body, looking challengingly at Ardeth, delighting in the fact that there was nothing he could do to stop him. Rick convulsed against the painful energy that coursed through his body, light seeming to shoot from his eyes and mouth.

Ardeth fought back against the Unas, but stopped when Sokar rewarded that behavior by touching Rick with the device again. The young Med-jai spat all of the curses he knew at the creature, hoping to anger Sokar enough that the creature would attack him and forget about Rick.

Sokar's face darkened at Ardeth's words. He stooped to look him in the eye, grabbing the boy’s chin in his tight grasp. "It isn't easy to watch your friend suffer like this, is it?" he hissed, a malevolent look on his face. "If you deactivate the barrier, his torment will end. Resist me and he will pay the price. But don't worry; your god has not forgotten you. I will deal with you soon enough. Now lower the shield." He kept his tone level to try to assert an air of control.

"You know nothing of the Med-jai. One person is not greater than the whole world. We know what will happen if you or any evil escaped our watch, and we will never allow that to happen! Even at the cost of our lives," Ardeth spat the words out, glaring at the goa’uld.

"Very well," Sokar said as he turned to Rick. The boy was dragging himself as best he could away from him. Having dropped his other gun when he was knocked unconscious, he was trying to pull himself over to the gun he had thrown out of the den so he would have something to defend them with. But Sokar caught sight of Rick, smiling at the boy's pathetic attempt at an escape. The goa'uld stepped closer to the boy before touching him again with the device. Rick gasped but held in the agony he felt, not wanting to be used against his brother.

Fighting hard against the Unas' hold, Ardeth only succeeded in driving its claws into his arms. As he felt the blood trickling down his arms, the boy's eyes narrowed. "Med-jai blood has been spilt!" he called out in Ancient Egyptian, invoking one of the rarest protections in the tunnels.

There was a sudden ripple that seemed to affect all matter in the area. Startled, Sokar froze. He looked at Ardeth, who glared back at him with every ounce of authority he had. But nothing happened. Laughing, Sokar beamed mockingly at the prince. "Your magic has failed you.” But as he prodded Rick with the torture stick, the energy instead of going into O'Connell shot back into the stick, overloading it and causing it to splinter into a thousand pieces. The force of the power threw Sokar across the room. The Unas standing at the edge of the blast radius was stunned losing his grip on the prince. But Ardeth and Rick emerged unscathed and unaffected from the shockwave.

"Can you walk, my friend?" Ardeth demanded, scrambling over to Rick and pulling the older boy to his feet.

"Yeah," Rick grunted, slightly breathless as Ardeth helped him up. He stooped slightly to pick up the gun he'd been after and grimaced from the way his muscles screamed at him for it. He whipped his gun around to point it in the direction of their enemies still recovering from the blow. "What now?"

"I don't know how to destroy the creature so that he'll stay dead." Ardeth admitted, leading Rick over to a different corner of the room. It would take their enemies a little bit to spot them now. "Do you have any ideas?"

"Well, if our pals from the future are right, all we'd have to do is take out the sarcophagus and then kill it. But I didn't bring any TNT with me," Rick said between gasps as he fished up his shot gun on the way. He started reloading rounds into the chamber, then offered it to Ardeth before he began loading the pistol he had retrieved.

Accepting the weapon, Ardeth looked around for his own scimitar. He knew the weapon would find its way back to him eventually, since like all Med-jai heirlooms, it was bound to its current bearer. "Any ideas about the beast Sokar is keeping as a pet?"

"Best I can figure is some sort of wierd mutated crocodile. I've never seen anything like it before, not even in my nightmares. But Jack and his friends knew about the creature; maybe they know about this one too." Rick shook his head. "When it first attacked me, I thought it was going to rip my throat out with its fangs, but then it threw me into that hole, like it knew it was supposed to take prisoners."

"Interesting. It held me so that I couldn't struggle against the creature as it tortured you—it must have some level of intelligence. Well, in any case, the creature has laid several traps in front of the way out," Ardeth told Rick, with a sigh.

"We'll find a way out. We always do." Rick turned and looked at Ardeth now that they had a moment. "You alright?"

The younger boy rolled his eyes. "You were the one he was torturing! It hurts me to know you are in pain, my brother," Ardeth continued quietly, absently feeling for their connection and making it strong.

"I'm okay," Rick assured him. "Glad that thing's gone though. But I ask because your arms are bleeding, and I wasn't sure what all happened between the time he knocked me out and when I woke up again." He hid the wince that almost immediately rose to his face as his muscles spasmed slightly, still reeling from the electrocution.

Glancing down at his arms, Ardeth realized that they were still bleeding. "I didn't think it was that bad," he commented, rolling up his sleeves to look at the injuries.

Rick chuckled. "If we survive, Amir is going to kill us."

"What makes you think that?" Ardeth asked wryly, then quieted down as it became obvious that Sokar and his pet were waking up.

"Great," Rick muttered under his breath, carefully cocking his gun so that the noise would be drowned out by the sounds of movement from the opposite side of the room. Suddenly, a rumbling sound filled the room as the ring transport activated.

Both boys tensed and watched the ring transport warily. Sokar and the unas turned to face it in confusion, since Sokar hadn't activated it. Seconds later, SG-1 appeared in the room, armed and angry.

All the members of SG-1 opened fire on Sokar, trying to catch him before he had time to raise his shield. Because he was still disoriented from the explosion, he failed to activate his shield in time and got thrown back against the wall as multiple staff blasts slammed into him along with heavy machine gun fire. Ardeth started towards the ring transport, helping Rick, careful to avoid the traps.

"Sorry we’re late. Once you two went through, Sokar scrambled the activation codes. Are you two okay?" Jack called out as he saw the boys. He kept his gun fixed on Sokar, not willing to let him out of his sight until he was certain he was dead. Jonas rushed over to help them.

"He used some sort of metal device on Rick, three times," Ardeth told Jack, also keeping an eye on Sokar.

"I'll be fine," Rick insisted, but his protest was cut off by a hiss as his muscles spasmed again.

Ardeth rolled his eyes. "Yes, Amir will have great fun—he and Father will collaborate to confine us to Kiriyah Gan and make certain we never leave again!"

Rick chuckled ruefully at that. “Yeah, but that’s what they said the last time.” But then, the unas that had been moving in the shadows lunged at the group. Just before it plowed into Jack, Rick’s voice rang out speaking a phrase fluently in Arabic and the creature vaporized. Uncertain of what had happened, what he had said, or even what had provoked him to say it, Rick stared wide-eyed at the spot where the unas had been standing before it had vanished. And everyone in the group turned to stare just as wide-eyed at him, even Ardeth.

The young Med-jai recovered first and quickly lowered Rick to the floor. “Breathe slowly; concentrate on the peace and the stillness of the desert. Be calm, my brother,” the boy whispered, rubbing a hand on the older boy’s back to soothe him. “Have you been listening in on my lessons with Father about controlling my powers?” Ardeth asked, only half-teasing. The prince kept their bond wide open so that he would be able to sense if using magic had overwhelmed any of Rick’s senses. Usually, the first time a Med-jai child attempted to use their inherent powers, a fully trained adult was present to help ground them and keep them from burning themselves up by using too much energy.

"I hadn't thought so," Rick breathed weakly. "What just happened? I did that?" he asked, still unsure if what he had just seen had really taken place. Ardeth's presence was calming and he latched onto it, clinging to what was familiar as his vision swam and hearing rang slightly from the exertion.

Ardeth carefully fed some of his own energy through the bond. "Well, apparently the adoption triggered some abilities in you that are only in the royal family. Father will be pleased to have another son to teach the powers to." The boy glanced around and whispered a phrase under his breath, making certain the trap Rick had just triggered was deactivated now—it wouldn't do to accidentally kill any members of SG-1. "You activated one of the most potent protections that our ancestors left available to us. This one is rarely used, since it can only be called on by the royal family when one of their family members is in immediate danger."

Rick nodded. His mind was reeling from all this new information but his vision was starting to clear.

"It would be wise if we left now to seek the healer among your people," Teal'c advised quietly.

"Yeah, before anymore bad guys pop out of the woodwork," Jack said glancing around, still a little tense from the unas that had almost tackled him.

"Come, my brother, let's leave these tunnels." Ardeth pulled Rick to his feet, supporting the taller boy as best as he could.

"So, he's dead, right?" Rick asked, warily watching Sokar's corpse as Ardeth helped him onto ring platform. "Permanently dead?"

"I don't know—is he?" Ardeth asked, looking over at SG-1. "Do you have any dynamite or anything to destroy that sarcophagus?"

"Oh, I don't think that will be necessary," Jack said as he moved to stand over the goa'uld's body and pulled out his zat. Taking aim, he fired it three times at Sokar, and the corpse disintegrated.

The boy watched that, eyes wide. "I want one of those!" he whispered before remembering that he needed to get Rick up and to the healer. He helped the older boy over to stand in the middle of the ring transport.

"Me too," Rick agreed with a smile. At hearing this, Carter looked at O'Neill in despair. Jack only shook his head, assuring Sam that he had no intention of giving them one. A glimmer in the torchlight caught Teal'c's eye, and he wandered over to see what it was. Finding Ardeth's scimitar on the floor, he picked it up.

"Ready to go, T?" Jack called as he had joined SG-1 and the boys at the rings.

"Indeed," Teal'c replied as he walked back over, holding onto the scimitar for Ardeth who still was helping to support Rick

As soon as they were back up in the desert, Ardeth started helping Rick over to the tent. "Tahir! I need your help!" he called, and the Med-jai healer came running towards them.

Hakim and Gen also came running up. The two commanders breathed a sigh of relief to see that the boys were alive. Tahir helped Rick the rest of the way to the tent, not wanting the prince to strain his injured arms any more than he had to.

Ardeth rolled his eyes slightly as both Hakim and Gen firmly urged him to sit down. "The creature is dead and the body disposed of. Our new allies destroyed the creature," he announced, and a cheer went up from the Med-jai.

Tahir helped Rick to lie down on his mat and commanded him to stay there, an order which Rick strangely enough had no problems complying with. Tahir quickly fetched his medical supplies and examined Rick but, again, was frustrated to not find any specific injuries to treat with exception of a bump on the back of Rick's head from when he had been knocked unconscious.

"What sort of metal device did Sokar use on him?" Jonas asked Ardeth.

"It was a stick with three hooked parts at one of the end. When the creature used it on Rick, it made his eyes and mouth glow," Ardeth told them, watching anxiously from the sleep rug he was confined to. "Oh, Tahir—he used one of the ancient spells of protection and probably completely drained himself."

Tahir raised an eyebrow. "That would explain why he's being uncharacteristically cooperative." Rick only grunted in reply.

Upon hearing the description of the device, all of SG-1 grimaced and exchanged glances.

"I really hate that thing!" Jack groaned from the memory of when he had been subjected to it. "Tell me, whose bright idea was that thing anyways?"

"I take it you've all experienced it?" Ardeth asked them, raising an eyebrow. The boy grumbled slightly when Hakim and Gen started trying to remove his robes and shirt so that they could examine the claw marks on his arms from the unas.

"Unfortunately," Jack groaned. "Just a few times."

"How is it treated, then?" Tahir asked, since they seemed to know it well.

"There really isn't a treatment, except to rest—maybe some pain reliever, or a muscle relaxant," Jonas told Tahir, watching the healer work curiously.

Tahir nodded, turning back to his supplies to give something to Rick for the pain. The boy sipped at it slowly. Totally exhausted, he was losing steam quickly and knew he wouldn’t be awake for much longer. He set the cup down when he was finished. Tahir put it away and moved over to see to the prince’s arms. Rick reached out and grabbed Ardeth’s wrist, though careful not to pull on it and strain his arm. “Thank you for saving my life again, brother,” he murmured softly.

Ardeth clasped Rick’s wrist, smiling at the older boy. “You are my brother. I will do all in my power to defend you. Now, sleep, Rick—sleep deeply and without dreams.” The boy didn’t have to use any of his powers to put Rick to sleep, which was good, since he was sending all of the energy he could spare through the bond to help Rick heal faster.

“The scouts report that your father is within two days’ ride of here, my prince,” Gen told Ardeth as Tahir started tending to the deep claw marks adorning the boy’s arms.

“Send word with a falcon that the creature is dead, and the situation is under control, please,” the young Med-jai said, trying not to watch Tahir work.

Gen went off to carry out his command. Once Tahir was done bandaging Ardeth's arms, Teal'c handed the scimitar back to him with a bow.

"So how is it you two are brothers?" Jonas asked, remembering that Rick had said earlier that he was an American.

"Yeah," Jack agreed, "’Cause I've noticed that you two don't exactly look alike."

At that, Ardeth laughed. "Rick and I met for the first time a few months ago, during my first trip into a city. He saved my life many times and stayed by my side when enemies of my tribe kidnapped us and brought us to a very evil place. I discovered that he has the heart of a Med-jai, and as he is an orphan, my father adopted him. Our souls are connected with a very strong sibling bond."

Daniel listened, absolutely fascinated. "Wow, it must be a very strong bond between you for him to be accepted by your people so readily. And to be added as a member of the royal family, that would be a great honor to bestow, especially on an outsider." Then, Daniel remembered something. "You mentioned earlier something about a test to help you discover if someone has the heart of a Med-jai. What would be involved in a test like that?"

"Daniel, I know where you're going with this, and the answer is no!" Jack cut in.

"It's just a question," Daniel said, trying to look unaware of Jack's meaning.

Jack frowned in thought for a second. "Fine, ask your question, but just remember, I'm watching you."

Daniel nodded and then turned back to Ardeth.

The young prince was trying to keep a straight face as he watched the interactions between Daniel and Jack. "The sacred duty of Med-jai is to defend mankind. One who carries the heart of a Med-jai will be willing to help anyone in a just cause, no matter the personal risk. There is no single test to be used—rather, Med-jai can sense if someone else is acting selfishly or unselfishly. I knew Rick had the heart of a Med-jai after he saved my life on the streets of Cairo, never having seen me before, just because he could, and it was the right thing to do." Horus suddenly dove into the tent and settled on Ardeth's shoulder, anxiously preening the boy's hair, trying to make certain he was all right.

"It's a test of a person's character," Daniel thought out loud.

"Daniel," Jack warned.

"Jack?" Daniel turned in exasperation to O'Neill.

"We're not taking this test. We already have a job defending mankind. A job we haven't quite finished yet."

"You do not want to get the tribal markings?" Ardeth asked Jack, putting his best innocent expression on and gesturing to the tattoos decorating his face. "You would only get the cheek ones and the wrist compass."

Jack looked at him, grimacing. "I'll pass. They look better on you than they would on me anyways. And if I did get tattoos like that, General Hammond would probably give me that retirement I've been trying to take for years now."

Ardeth grinned at the man. "Tomorrow, after I have rested, I will deactivate the traps, and then I will take you to the chamber where you first appeared. I have used too much of my energy today to be able to do anything with the protections. Amir is not going to be pleased with us."

SG-1 nodded, expressing their appreciation. Soon, a couple of men appeared with trays of food for the prince and his guests. They quickly passed out plates, urging the prince to remain seated and relax as they served him dinner.

Accepting the tray of food, Ardeth leaned back against the support pole for the tent, politely covering his yawn. “Hakim, would you set up watches and make certain that everyone is all right? Report to me about any injured or dead—there should be a watch on the ruins, but I don’t expect any more problems there.”

"Yes, my Prince," Hakim replied and left the tent.

Ardeth glanced over at SG-1. "Please, make yourself comfortable. There are some books over in the other section of the tent. Most of them are in Ancient Egyptian, but if you can read them, you are welcome to them. You are free to wander around the encampment, but I would recommend that you stay within the perimeter. A lot of poisonous creatures are just outside of the protective barriers."

"Thank you for your hospitality, your Highness," Daniel said before immediately going over to sort through the books, quickly looking through many of them for references to the Med-jai.

Most of the books were in Ancient Egyptian, and some were in the same dialect that seemed to be the Med-jai's primary language. There were also two French grammar books, an English dictionary, two novels in Arabic, and several other basic grammar books in different languages. Jonas had followed Daniel and smiled at all of the linguistic books.

Daniel shared Jonas’ smile and handed him a few before sitting on the rug with one himself.

"Your Majesty, I would like to ask if you would permit me to practice my battle techniques outside," Teal'c asked Ardeth.

At that, Ardeth blinked, then glared around at the adult Med-jai in the tent. "This is all your fault. You always have to refer to me by titles, and it seems to be contagious!" He turned back to Teal'c. "Of course you may—the training area is to the north, just before the oasis. Please, all of you, just call me Ardeth."

The older Med-jai simply laughed at the prince's accusation. Gen, who had overheard the conversation as he had entered the tent, was grinning in amusement at Ardeth's dilemma. "You never have liked being referred to by your title."

"Why should I? Being the prince doesn't make me any more skilled or talented than anyone else my age. I just happen to get more lessons to utilize what abilities I do have."

"Very well, Your Ma—" Gen had to catch himself at the harsh glance he was getting from the boy. "—Ardeth."

Once Tahir was done cleaning and bandaging the wounds on his arms, Ardeth lay down next to Rick. Absently, the younger boy rested his hand on Rick's forehead before falling asleep himself.

After Ardeth had dozed off, Jack scooted closer to Sam. He kept his voice low so he wouldn't wake either of the boys. "Ok, Carter, now that we have regained access to a stargate, how are we going to get back to the right time? We don't exactly have an almanac this time to look up when the next solar flare is going to be."

"I don't know, sir. Maybe if we ask the Med-jai, they might be able to help us. They do seem to have a lot of knowledge that wouldn't normally be found at this date."

"That's true," Jack said, looking at the two boys thoughtfully. He turned to Gen. "Are they gonna be alright?"

"Yes, they will. Both used far more magical energy than they should have, but with rest, they will recover," the Med-jai told them, smiling as he saw how the boys were sleeping.

Jack watched them for a few moments longer. He was surprised that they seemed to handle being tortured by Sokar so well. He knew what it was like to be interrogated by a goa'uld. Every member of SG-1 did. They were both so young, and when they had been taken, he had been certain that experience would scar them greatly, but they were stronger than he had thought.


	5. Chapter 5

After barely an hour, Ardeth woke up abruptly. He glanced around the tent carefully before checking to make sure Rick was still sleeping and moving away. The boy stood, going over to the basin of water on a stand in the corner and splashed his face.

Teal'c, who had only come in a short while ago, had not quite fallen asleep yet. Hearing Ardeth's movements, he rose and walked over to speak to him without waking the others. "Are you alright, Ardeth?" he asked, placing a hand on his shoulder.

The boy jumped, startled, and whirled to face Teal'c hand going for a scimitar that wasn't in his belt. When he recognized the man, he relaxed and smiled at him. "My apologies. I had a nightmare, and now I'm rather jumpy."

Teal'c nodded understandingly. "Do you wish to speak of it? I have often found experience with dreams to be unsettling."

"Let's go outside, so we don't wake the others," Ardeth suggested, grabbing his robes and scimitar on the way out of the tent. He led the way to a few small boulders and settled on one. "My dream was more of a memory, really. I was reliving an attack several years ago, and Rick was there. Then the goa’uld showed up, and no matter what I did, it killed my brother."

Teal'c's face was grim. "That is indeed a dark apparition. I have had similar dreams where Bra'tac, my mentor and the man who has been like a surrogate father to me, dies before my eyes."

Ardeth pulled his legs to his chest, wrapping his arms around them, and resting his chin on them. "I know that those events did not happen, but I am scared that in the future, if the Creature rises, I will not be strong enough to save my family, or fulfill my duty and protect the world."

"This creature you speak of is not the goa'uld we have just vanquished." It was more of a statement than a question. "You have great strength as a warrior. And your heart is filled with courage but tempered by wisdom." He nodded approvingly at the boy. "But a warrior's strength doesn't just come from within. It comes from depending on those around you, by drawing strength from those fighting beside you. You strengthen your brother as he strengthens you. Together, you both will be strong enough when the time comes."

"Thank you, Teal'c." Ardeth whispered, inclining his head to the man in respect.

Teal'c nodded back, the moon light shining strangely on the golden symbol on his forehead as he did. He looked over at the ruin which lay now peacefully in the pale glow; the darkness that had been radiating out from it before was gone. But regardless, Teal'c was still on alert. After all, it had only taken six or seven attempts to kill Apophis before the system lord was finally destroyed.

"If I may ask, what does your marking mean?" Ardeth asked, after a few minutes of comfortable silence. The tension was slowly leaving him, but he was still much too alert to try to sleep again.

"It symbolizes enslavement to false gods. My people are enslaved to the goa'uld, forced to serve them, to carry their young, and to fight their battles for them. I was given this mark when I became first prime to Apophis. But then when Col. O'Neill, Dr. Jackson, and Maj. Carter were captured by Apophis, I helped them to escape and have joined them in their quest to defeat the goa'uld in the hopes of one day freeing my people."

"That is a good goal to have." The boy traced the markings on his own cheeks and forehead absently. "Mine mark me as a Med-jai and as one of the royal family. It's a little annoying, since I can never hide who I am because of them."

Teal'c chuckled. "I concur. It can be difficult to go in disguise among humans as one of them. I must always be certain to bring a hat with me to cover it. I imagine it is much more difficult for you though."

Ardeth grimaced. "For now, it is not such a hardship, except for having everyone bow and call me by my titles all the time. However, when I am older, if I ever have to go places where the Med-jai are not recognized, it will be very difficult to blend in."

"Is it not important to show respect to the position you hold and will hold as king one day?" Teal'c asked, tilting his head slightly.

"To some extent, it is. But it is also important that I experience life without any of the privileges most people afford to their royalty. We are a warrior tribe—I must be able to and willing to do anything before I would ask one of my people to do it. The royal family always is on the front line of any battles that are fought, and we are charged with the responsibility of standing between any threat and our people, along with the rest of humanity. I do not like to be called prince, but this isn't because I don't desire respect, but rather that I feel I have not proven myself worthy of it yet."

Teal'c smiled. A very wise answer. Ardeth already had the makings of a great leader. "If you have not proven yourself already even by your actions today then you are at least well on your way. But your answer holds great insight and a strong understanding of how many can abuse their status."

"Thank you," Ardeth smiled at Teal'c, now completely relaxed and starting to feel his earlier exhaustion again. His arms were aching too, and he scowled at the bandages.

"Are your injuries troubling you?" Teal'c asked.

"They're a little sore," Ardeth admitted, peeking under his robes to make certain he hadn't bled through the bandages. He sighed in relief at seeing the clean white cloth. Both Tahir and Amir would spend hours lecturing him if he didn't take proper care of the injuries.

"Perhaps it is time that we retire," Teal'c suggested sensing Ardeth's fatigue.

"I suppose you are right." The young Med-jai sat still, watching the desert around them for a minute longer, before sighing and standing from the boulder. He started back to the tent, calmly greeting the men on watch as he moved through the camp.

Teal'c followed. Once they reached the tent, he went to his sleep mat but waited until Ardeth was settled before attempting to go to sleep himself. Rick stirred slightly as Ardeth lay down again, but did not wake.

Making certain that his friend was still resting peacefully, Ardeth relaxed himself. Once again, he rested a hand on Rick's forehead—Rick's dreams were warded against the Creature, but he could still have regular nightmares.

When morning came, Rick woke with a substantial headache from the exertion the day before but otherwise feeling much better and very well rested. He rolled over to see if Ardeth had wakened yet.

The young Med-jai was still asleep, which was very strange—unless he was seriously ill or injured, Ardeth was always up before dawn.

Rick smiled slightly as his friend's hand still rested on his forehead, but it did concern him that he was not awake. Though after what happened yesterday he felt it probably would be better to let him sleep as long as he needed. Rick moved Ardeth’s hand to rest on his own chest, carefully trying not to disturb him, before he sat up, running his hand over his face. His muscles were sore and protested the action greatly, but he stretched them out anyways, trying to work the stiffness out of them.

Tahir was moving around quietly, setting up a basin of steaming water for them to wash up in. "How are you feeling this morning, young O'Connell?"

"Like I've been run over by a herd of camels, but I'll be okay," he said smiling at the healer wryly as he took one of the cloths that he offered him. Then his face became serious. "I'm a little concerned that Ardeth is still sleeping."

"From what the night watchman told me, the prince was up with nightmares for a while during the night. He will be fine," Tahir promised with a smile.

Rick turned and looked at his brother with a frown. While you were protecting my dreams, he thought sadly. He pulled the blanket on his brother higher since it had fallen down a little in the night. "You're always lookin' out for me," he murmured softly as he turned to wash his face. The warm water was very soothing for his muscles, and once he was done with his face, he used the damp cloth to ease his arms and shoulders a bit.

"A little later, after the sun has warmed the waters, you should go for a swim," Tahir told him, watching his reactions to the warm water.

Rick smiled, already liking the sound of that. “I will. Thank you Tahir.” He looked over to see if any of SG-1 were awake. Teal’c’s sleep mat was empty. O’Neill was still asleep and, remembering his fight with Daniel the night before, Rick decided that he wasn’t going to be the one to change that. Sam’s mat was also empty, and Jonas and Daniel were asleep in the corner books lying open in their hands.

A few minutes later, Ardeth stirred and sat up, looking around quickly for Rick. He sighed in relief when he spotted the older boy and stood, yawning as he made his way over to the wash basin. “Good morning, Rick, Tahir,”

"Good morning, Ardeth," they both said. Rick handed him a cloth and moved aside slightly so he could use the wash basin. "How are your arms doing?"

The younger boy paused in his washing to glance at the bandages. "They are a little sore, but not a problem. How are you feeling this morning, my brother?"

"Surprisingly better than I would have thought yesterday. Got a headache and stiff muscles, but not much else to complain about," Rick answered. He looked down thoughtfully and spoke again at length. "I'm sorry, Ardeth."

"What are you apologizing for?" Ardeth asked, confused, finally finished washing up. He rolled his eyes but didn't protest when Tahir urged him to sit down so that his arms could be tended to.

"I didn't want him to use me against you.” Rick's eyes were sad. He knew the pain it must have caused him, the same sort of pain and fear that he had felt when Ardeth had been taken by Sokar. He hadn't been told what Ardeth's nightmare was, but seeing the prince’s reaction when he woke and didn’t immediately know where his brother was, Rick was willing to guess that it had something to do with that.

"You are my brother, Rick. We stand up for each other. The creatures will notice that, but what they do not know is that it makes us stronger. We are stronger together than we are apart."

Rick smiled slightly and gave a small nod. "Yeah, we are. And I'll always be there to fight by your side, brother."

Ardeth smiled at the other boy and clasped Rick's shoulder with his free hand. "Do you know who is in charge of cooking today? I'm rather hungry after everything that happened yesterday!"

"Actually, I think it's Gen's turn tonight," Rick said with a smile. He tried to picture it, but found he could not imagine a spy and warrior like Gen doing something as domestic as cooking. He chuckled at the idea.

"Breakfast should certainly be interesting, then. I am curious about what Gen will make.”

"So, I see some of our new friends had a fun time raiding your book collection last night," Rick observed with a smile as he jerked his head in Daniel's and Jonas' direction.

Ardeth glanced over his shoulder at Jonas and Daniel, sleeping with the books, and snickered. “I wonder how long it took them to realize that most of the books are written in Med-jai and in a code.”

Tahir shook his head at the memory of the two studying and comparing dialects deep into the night, even after everyone had gone to sleep. "Even when they did, they both were enthralled with it, determined to break the code. It was a good thing they fell asleep when they did. They were making startling progress on it." Both Jonas and Daniel were surrounded by piles of papers the two had torn from notebooks they carried with them in their supply packs. Rick moved over to pick one of the papers up and it was covered with notes they had taken on symbols and dialects and syntax.

Ardeth started to get up to look at it himself, only to have Tahir hold him down while the man finished retying one bandage and reached for the other arm. He sighed. "What does it say, Rick?"

"Well, this one is talking about scorpions and there's a reference to a 'Bracelet of Anubis'." He picked up another one. "This one mentions something about 'Anck-su-namun' and 'Hom-Dai'." Rick stumbled over the foreign pronunciation. "This one theorizes on similarities between your language and goa'uld. And this one is filled with notes and questions about the Med-jai he wants to research when he gets back."

Ardeth winced. "Can you put the books in my trunk and lock it, please? Leave out the ones with the new covers—those don't involve anything that only Med-jai know. I didn't expect them to be able to figure out so much in just one evening," the boy confessed to Tahir, shaking his head in amazement.

Tahir nodded understandingly. He had not foreseen this either, but since the prince had offered him the library, he had not felt he could take them away, and he had not wanted to wake Ardeth who was clearly drained from the day's battles. He scooped the books up quickly and carted them away.

Rick moved closer to Ardeth and spoke in a low tone. "Do you want me to hide their notes? I'm sure we can think of some excuse for their disappearance when they wake up."

Ardeth sighed, and shook his head. "No, let them keep those for now. I will explain to them that what they did manage to figure out is knowledge that cannot be shared with anyone. Was there any mention of Hamunaptra in their notes?"

Rick searched every page of their notes, looking for any possible reference to the City of the Dead, but finally he shook his head. "It looks like they didn't get that far yet, thank goodness."

"That is very fortunate. If that had happened, then there would be serious problems." Ardeth slid his robes back on, making certain the bandages were completely covered, and stood. "Father will probably be arriving around sunset. Hopefully he got the message that the creature here was dealt with."

At that moment, Gen came in with breakfast for the boys and chuckled when he saw that Jack, Daniel and Jonas were all still asleep. Though with Daniel and Jonas, he was hardly surprised, because they had been up half the night studying the ancient texts.

"Good morning, Gen," the young prince greeted the man cheerfully, eagerly taking the food. "Thank you! I have decided that using any magic at all drains your energy rapidly and makes you very hungry."

"As I expected, and for that reason I made plenty of food for you to get seconds and even thirds if you wish." Gen handed a plate to Rick who accepted it gratefully. He had built up quite an appetite himself with his first use of magic.

"Speaking of magic, do you have any idea what I said back there to take out that crocodile-thing?" Rick asked, still somewhat curious about this new-found gift.

"Basically, you invoked a very powerful defense that protects your family from danger by destroying whatever is the most threatening thing to them at that moment. It is dangerous, since the magic tends to take things literally—if one of SG-1 had accidentally been aiming at me, since they were closer, they probably would have been destroyed. But your instincts are good—that will make your training much easier. Father will be so pleased to have another boy to torture!"

Rick grimaced at the thought of vaporizing one of their allies. Then he chuckled at Ardeth's comment about his father. He was intrigued by this idea, but given the risk it involved, he was a little more comfortable wielding his guns since he knew he had them a little more under his control. He was more than a little worried that if he were to botch the pronunciation on a particular spell, it could have a lethal effect on the wrong person. Though he tried to imagine himself being able to do some of the things he had seen Ardeth do, and felt it would be worth the risk if only to learn that spell that Ardeth had protected him with in case one day their positions were reversed.

Ardeth glanced at the three sleeping members of SG-1, and shrugged. "I suppose they'll have to scavenge for themselves if they don't wake up soon. Where are the other two?"

Rick shook his head. "I don't know. They were gone when I woke up."

With a sigh, the young prince left the tent and went to Hakim. "Has there been any word from my father about when he will arrive?"

Hakim nodded. "Horus returned just a few minutes ago with a message saying that he should arrive sometime in the mid-afternoon and states that he is eager to hear your report on how the creature here was defeated."

"I'm certain he is. That will be an interesting tale." Ardeth sighed and turned to look at the ruins. "I need to begin taking the defenses down, so would you send someone to make certain our guests are awake and fed?"

Hakim nodded and went towards the tent. At that moment, Carter and Teal'c returned to the camp. Both greeted him as they approached.

"Are you well this morning?" Teal'c asked discreetly, knowing that the prince would catch his meaning.

"I am. Thank you for your concern and for your assistance last night," Ardeth told the man, inclining his head in respect. "I am going to start taking down the protections I put up—Gen has prepared breakfast, if you are hungry."

"Starved," Sam said with a smile. "Thank you. In the meantime, I was wondering if you could help us with a problem. We're not sure if we can use the stargate to travel back to our time. Under certain circumstances, we would be able to, but we don't have technology to find the right information for us in this time. Your people seem to have a good deal of knowledge about the technology in the ruins, and we need to know if there's any way you can help us."

"What sort of information do you need?" Ardeth asked warily—after what Daniel and Jonas had accomplished, he needed to be very careful what he shared with them.

“We either need a way to predict solar flares current to this time period, or we need to ask if your people know anyway to help us travel through time back to the year we come from.”

The boy nodded thoughtfully. “I am not far enough along in my lessons to know much about the time travel theories. Solar flares—those I might be able to figure out. Once I see the device you use, I should have a better idea of what’s needed. If not, then my Father will be here by sunset, and he should know.”

Carter nodded, though she was more than a little leery of the consequences of teaching these people how to operate the stargate. But at the moment, they had no other options. "The device is in the ruins, in the room you found us in. It's the same device we came through."

"Give me a few hours to lower the protections—I don't want to chance anyone accidentally getting fried because they aren't Med-jai and wander through one of the fields."

Sam nodded her agreement. She and Teal'c started to head back to the tent to inform Col. O'Neill of the situation.

Gen had just delivered trays of food for all of SG-1 into the tent and was exiting. He nodded to Teal'c and Carter, smiling at the man. The entire camp knew that Teal'c had helped the prince deal with his nightmares, and their respect for him was high.

Teal'c nodded back as he sat down to eat. Daniel and Jonas were casting about the tent looking for all the books they had been reading the night before. Rick had just finished eating his food and set his plate aside as he carefully stretched his legs out. O'Neill looked at Sam as she came into the tent. "Carter, were you able to find anything out from the configuration of the crystals in the ring transporter?"

Sam shook her head. "None of them have the right energy signature to facilitate establishing a worm hole to cross the temporal vortex—"

"Carter!" Jack said shaking his head, with the dazed look he always wore when she used what he called 'scientific babble'.

Carter sighed, "No, sir."

Jack tilted his head. "See, now was that so difficult?"

Tahir glanced up as Hakim came in. "Who is keeping an eye on the prince?" the healer asked, repacking his bag.

"Salah is escorting him as he takes down the defenses around the ruins."

"Excellent. You do realize that Nasser is going to double our training routine, since the prince managed to escape our care and get injured?" Tahir said, setting his bag near the entrance to the tent.

Hakim nodded grimacing. It was going to be grueling, but he felt it was deserved. He shook his head to think that they had almost lost the heir to the Med-jai throne. And when the king got there, he was certain that tensions would be high, since this would be the second time in the matter in a month and a half where his son had been in such grave danger.

It didn't take Ardeth as long as he expected to finish clearing the defenses. His magical  
reserve was increasing, since he was using it so much. Of course, that probably meant that Amir would spend hours checking him over to make certain he wasn't experiencing any of the side effects from starting his magic too early.

Rick came out to join him after a while. He didn't say anything as he stood a ways behind his brother as he cleared the last of the barriers, not wanting to distract him.

Finally done, Ardeth sighed and leaned against the wall. "There, the protections are back down. It must have taken Father forever to undo all that I did at Hamunaptra."

Rick chuckled lightly at the memory. That day, he had been so exhausted that he had come back into the tent and slept from that afternoon until late into the morning the following day. Rick and Ardeth had taken great delight in braiding his hair as he slept. The king had not been too pleased with either of them when he awoke. "But he got a nice hairstyle out of the deal," Rick said slyly.

Ardeth snickered at the memory. "Well, since I was the one to put the protections up, it's much easier for me to be the one to take them down. It helps that the magic recognizes that the creature is destroyed."

"So how are you doing buddy?" Rick asked as he brought some melon that Jack had not wanted to eat, figuring Ardeth might need something once he had finished. He had known before that the magic had a draining effect on the user. But he had a greater understanding of the extent of the resulting exhaustion now that he had experienced it first hand.

The younger boy took the melon gratefully. "Thank you, my brother. I am doing fine—a little tired, but now that the tunnels are clear, we should be able to help our guests find a way home."

Rick nodded. "They'll be glad to hear that. I'm interested to see how this device they used works . . . Actually I wouldn’t mind seeing how a lot of their devices work. That gun O'Neill used to destroy the goa'uld, that would be awesome to learn how to use!" The older boy's grin widened, just thinking about it.

"Yes, I definitely want one of those. Before everything in the creature's chamber is destroyed, we'll have to check it over for any weapons. Maybe we can find something similar to the one he had."

"Yeah, and while we're in there I need to get my other pistol back." Rick's mind was already hard at work trying to imagine all the new kinds of weapons they might discover in the crypt, especially since now they did not have to worry anymore about doing something to awaken the ancient evil interred there. "Can you imagine how much easier our duty of protecting those sacred sites would be if we had some of those?"

Ardeth sighed softly. "I can imagine, yes—but what if any of the creatures got their hands on the weapons after seeing us work them? I think we are going to have to be very, very careful with this, if we do find any of them."

Rick grimaced. This was true, though there was a certain amount of risk in the use of any weapon whether advanced or primitive. "As long they don't get their hands on any more of those metal sticks and strange gloves. I don't think I'd wish that on anyone." He paused. "There's something else coming, isn't there?" he asked at length.

"What do you mean?" Ardeth asked, glancing back at Rick as he led the way out of the tunnels. He needed to get more food before leading SG-1 to the chamber they had appeared in.

"I don't know. It's just a feeling, like what I felt when we were at Hamunaptra. That even though it seems as if things are settling down, that there's a part of this that hasn't played out quite yet" Rick scoffed after a moment. "Maybe I'm just starting to get paranoid with all that’s happened recently."

The younger boy shook his head. "No, you are not paranoid. There is a tension lingering in the air, but I'm not certain what the focus is. I suppose we'll know more after we try to get our guests to their home."

They stepped into the tent, and Rick started to gear up again. There should be no danger now, but it wouldn't hurt to be prepared just in case.

Ardeth nodded a greeting to SG-1. It was not quite noon now—he had spent more time than he thought taking down the defenses. The boy found a covered tray of food by his sleep rug, and dove into it eagerly.

Jack watched Ardeth eating even as he was being handed his own plate along with the rest of the members of his team. "Don't forget to chew," he joked in his usual dry manner.

Daniel scoffed, "Jack, I've seen someone else we all know who eats like that too." He was staring pointedly at O'Neill.

Ardeth snickered at the look on Jack's face but had a completely expressionless mask on by the time the colonel turned to look at him. "Thank you for lunch, Gen. I just finished taking the protections down, so I am rather hungry."

"You're welcome Ardeth" Gen replied. "There's plenty more if you need it."

Jonas and Daniel sat down to eat as well, having just finished organizing their notes which they had assumed were scattered from people walking in and out of the tent, still unaware that Rick had been scouring them for Med-jai secrets before they awoke. The two of them were comparing observations on their findings the night before, and Daniel was trying to find a tactful way to inquire after the books since they had all gone missing.

Spotting the hopeful look on Daniel's face as he glanced from his notes to Ardeth, the boy immediately turned to Rick and began talking to him about their lessons.

Rick hid his amused smile well as they compared French grammar and dueling techniques.

Once Ardeth was finished with his plate, Gen whisked it away and shoved a full plate back into his hands. When the boy looked up at him, the warrior raised an eyebrow. "Your father is coming in today. He will be displeased with us enough—I intend to make certain that you are fully fed with energy levels as high as possible after your magical expenditures. Do try to stay out of trouble for the rest of the afternoon?"

Rick looked up from his plate, aghast. "When do we ever get into trouble?" At a stern glare from Gen, he looked innocently at Ardeth. "They think we get into trouble. What ever would give them that idea?"

"I am not certain, my brother." Ardeth rested his chin in his hand, looking innocently up at the man, then back at Rick. "There was that incident with the merchant in Cairo, but I think he just took exception to the fact that I'm smarter than he is."

"Who isn't," Rick retorted.

Gen looked at the two, shaking his head. "Oh I don't know but something of the past six weeks seems to indicate that you both have a death wish. Between the two of you, all of Egypt trembles."

"I do not care if the rest of Egypt trembles, but if a few sacred areas trembled, that I wouldn't object to . . ." Ardeth said, laughing quietly, and finally finished the second plate of food. When Gen moved like he was going to insist on another serving, the prince shot to his feet. "I'm heading back into the tunnels to check for any traps I missed."

Rick laughed, pumping his shot gun as he rose as well. "I'm coming too."

"Mind if we tag along?" O'Neill asked. "While we're there, we can show you how the stargate works and see if we can work out a plan to get home."

"You are welcome to come along." Ardeth made certain he was fully armed as well, just in case.

The boys and SG-1 headed out the door and on down to the ruins.


	6. Chapter 6

Ardeth led the way through the tunnels, wary about any protections or traps he'd missed when undoing the defenses. It didn't take them long to get to the chamber where SG-1 had arrived in.

Rick stared in wonder at the giant stone ring that was covered with symbols. It was huge, filling the height of the room. "Whoa!"

"How does it work?" Ardeth asked in wonder, observing the symbols carefully. "Those symbols look familiar—like constellations"

Daniel stared at the prince in surprise. "It took me weeks to figure that out. He comes to that conclusion in a matter of seconds." He shook his head, amazed. "They are constellations. By selecting a combination of six constellations, their positions in the sky help to triangulate the destination. Then you also select the symbol for the point of origin and it establishes a link between where you are and where you want to go. This device," he walked up to a console standing before the stargate, "is what we use in most cases to select the seven symbols used to open the door."

"Fascinating. Well, I have no idea how this device will interact with my powers." Ardeth said, circling it and studying it carefully.

"Well, I could dial into a planet to demonstrate how it works, but I don't know what planets would be safe at this point in time."

"And since we don't have a MALP, there'd be no way to tell if your magic had the right effect or not unless we actually go through," Jonas added.

"That is true." Ardeth paused, then frowned. "What's a MALP?"

"It's a machine that we send through the stargate ahead of any team to scout the area and send back information on whether it's safe or not," Sam explained.

"I suppose that is a good thing to know. Very well—let me see if I can determine when the next solar flare will be. I need to go look at my lesson book for magic."

"Okay we'll wait here, and see if we can gather anymore information from the ruins," Daniel said as he walked over to one of the walls that was covered from floor to ceiling with hieroglyphics.

"Let's go pick up your gun from the creature's chamber, my friend, then head back up to the camp."

Rick nodded. Once they got back into the room where the creature had been sealed, Rick got in his hands and knees and crawled back into the small den where he had been held by the unas. As he picked up the gun, he heard an odd skittering noise. Looking up, he noticed a small black iridescent beetle crawling out of one of the coin sized holes in the dirt wall. Rick regarded it curiously, but went ahead and crawled back out. "Got it," he said shoving the gun back into his holster.

Ardeth was looking around, obviously uneasy. "Good. Let us leave this place—for a moment, I thought I heard a scarab beetle."

Rick’s eyes went wide, and all the color drained from his face. Since he had never seen a scarab beetle, he would not be able to identify it on sight, but from what Ardeth had told him, and more so from what he had not told him, he knew that death of a gruesome nature had to be involved whenever these creatures showed up. “There was a beetle in there crawling out one the holes in the wall,” he said, dread in his voice. “There are five or six holes in there like that.”

The boy’s shoulders tensed, and he pulled his handgun out. “Let’s go—I’ll seal off this room for now. I don’t know the spell to scan for scarabs yet, so when Father gets here, I’ll ask him to do it.”

"Probably a trap our pal Sokar left behind," Rick growled as he and Ardeth backed away from the hole cautiously. After a moment, Rick saw the beetle coming out of the den. Taking aim with his pistol, he shot it. "In the meantime, I think we ought to get our friends out of here."

"Yes, let's. I'd really rather not have to deal with an infestation of scarabs." Ardeth fumbled around on his belt until he found a small horn. He quickly blew the warning for scarabs, so that any Med-jai still in the tunnels would know to get out as fast as possible.

After Ardeth had sealed off the room to the sarcophagus, he and Rick ran back to the gate room. As soon as Rick entered the room, he froze in horror, spotting holes identical to the ones in the den distributed at even intervals along the wall throughout the entire gate room, holes which he had not noticed when he was in the room before.

"Oh, Mummy's breath!" Ardeth hissed, also spotting the holes. He turned to SG-1. "We have to get out of here, now! There are scarabs in here!"

All of SG-1 turned and looked at them in confusion. At that moment, Rick and Ardeth heard a sound that made their blood run cold, the sound of thousands of insect feet coming from the hall behind them. Rick stuck his head out briefly and cursed as he saw a wave of writhing black coming down the corridor towards the gate room cutting them off from the entrance of the ruins.

"Open your traveling device now, if you want to survive!" Ardeth shouted at Carter, whirling to start blasting the creatures as fast as he could.

Daniel ran to the dialing device and started punching in the coordinates for the first planet he could think of, the alpha site, which they had been assigned to visit when they accidentally ended up here. While he did, Carter transmitted the iris code. As the boys were backing to the gate, scarabs began to spill out of the holes closest to the entrance of the room. Rick handed his shot gun to Ardeth, took out his pistols, and began to lay down fire. Teal'c and O'Neill joined them as the Stargate opened. Jonas, realizing the boys were too close to the gate, grabbed them by their shirts and pulled them to the ground just in time to avoid the deadly wave the expanded from the event horizon.

Completely ignoring the danger Jonas had just saved them from, Ardeth kept blasting back the horde of bugs. "Rick, do you have any explosives on you right now?"

Rick pulled out a full bundle of dynamite, lit it, and threw it at the doorway. The archway collapsed, effectively sealing off the room. Everyone froze and listened, hardly daring to believe their luck. A smile started to spread across Rick's face but quickly faded again as he heard the skittering drawing closer despite the blocked entrance. The bugs burrowed around the cracks to come out of the remaining holes in the walls. All the explosion had done was to slow the rate at which the scarabs filled the room.

"This is a problem. Anyone have any ideas?" Ardeth asked, scrambling to his feet and backing up.

"Isn't that obvious??" Jack yelled as he ran over to grab the boys and drag them to the gate. "We get out of here! Come on people let's move!" he called out to the rest of SG-1 who ran without stopping into the circle filled with water.

Ardeth gasped as he and Rick were shoved through the wormhole and whisked away. By the time they emerged to their destination, both boys were shivering in reaction to the shock and extreme cold.

Rick gasped at the feeling of such contrasts and had been holding his breath because he had thought that they were walking into water. But as they looked around they were surrounded by stone walls, and there were several men with guns at the end of the ramp leading down from the stargate. SG-1 was just as confused to be back at Stargate Command, but Carter immediately shouted, "Close the iris!"

Hearing a familiar, sickening skittering behind him, Ardeth whirled with a shout and blasted the beetle with both barrels from Rick's shotgun.

The rest of them also turned and opened fire at the scarabs that got through as a metal barrier closed off the shimmering water and the deadly insects. Once all of the bugs had been slaughtered, O'Neill paused for a second. "Clear!" he said.

"Stand down!" a voice said over an intercom speaker, and after a moment, a door off to the side slid open, and a bald, slightly heavy-set man came in. "What happened? You weren't due back for another couple of days," he said addressing Jack.

Jack took off his hat and shook it, sending a cloud of sand drifting to the ground. "We seem to have had the extreme misfortune of encountering another solar flare while dialing out." he told the general.

"Another one? And just who are they?" he said pointing to the boys who were frantically casting about, wide-eyed.

Ardeth turned to look between General Hammond and Jack, resting a hand on Rick's shoulder. The contact helped comfort both of them. "I am Ardeth Bey, and this is my adopted brother, Rick O'Connell," the boy told Hammond, then turned to Jack. "I suppose we are in your home now?"

O’Neill nodded wincing.

"So they're from the past?" Hammond asked with trepidation.

Jack turned to his superior, "Yeah, about that, it's kind of a long story, general, but I assure you we wouldn't have brought them through the stargate anywhere . . . or anytime . . . without it being absolutely necessary."

Hammond looked at the colonel, sighing. "I guess this is going to be a very long and interesting debriefing. Report to the infirmary for a complete medical exam. For all of you,” he said, looking at the two teenagers.

Ardeth inclined his head to the older man. He didn't know anything at all here, so it would be best to cooperate, for now. He grimaced when he saw that SG-1 was disarming and leaving their weapons with uniformed men.

Rick eyed the men warily as he and Ardeth were asked to turn over their weapons as well. He looked over at Ardeth.

Considering this for a long moment, Ardeth finally nodded and began removing his weapons. He surprised the guard with how many different weapons he was carrying.

Rick followed suit, and it took a few moments before the two young Med-jai were completely disarmed. A couple of extra soldiers had to step forward to carry all of it away to the weapons room. When they finally finished, they found SG-1 waiting for them, knowing that they would not know the way to the infirmary.

"What is involved in this complete medical examination?" Ardeth asked, glancing back at his scimitar with longing before resolutely following the adults.

Daniel grimaced. "Uh, Jack, you want to take this one?"

Jack turned to glare at the archaeologist. "Thank you, Daniel. It's just the usual thing. The doctor will check you out, take your temperature, run a blood test, that sort of thing."

"It's just routine," Sam assured them. "Every time we walk through that gate, there's a possibility that we could accidentally bring back a disease or sickness that could infect our world. The doctors check us to make sure that we don't inadvertently bring anything harmful back through the gate."

"They need blood to determine that?" Ardeth demanded, wrinkling his nose. "Amir would not be pleased about this!"

"Trust me, I'm not so thrilled about it either," Jack said, just as put off by the idea of this whole process. He really liked Dr. Frasier as a colleague, but he detested physicals.

"But you'll like Dr. Frasier, " Daniel assured the boys. "She makes having check-ups a whole lot easier."

Jack had to keep himself from scoffing and saying, "Speak for yourself." This was going to be unpleasant enough as it was, and they didn't need Rick and Ardeth to start putting up a fight against it. Rick was walking beside Ardeth listening to the conversation with misgivings, red flags in his mind going up all over the place. But he kept his mouth shut, unwilling to let it show how uncomfortable this was making him.

Sensing Rick's discomfort, Ardeth sent a wave of reassurance through the bond. "Where exactly are we? These look like some sort of underground tunnels, but I can't sense any of the landmarks of Egypt at all."

"We're deep underground beneath Cheyenne Mountain in the Colorado Rockies," Sam explained to them. "Right now, you are in Colorado, U.S.A. in the year 2006."

Rick and Ardeth exchanged glances. "That's almost one hundred years ahead of our time," Rick breathed, a little dazed from the idea.

"And in America. This could get very complicated, trying to get home." Ardeth murmured, shaking his head.

"Yeah," Rick said quietly. By that time, they reached the infirmary and were greeted warmly by a short woman in a white doctor's coat. She smiled pleasantly at them, waving them all to medical beds. While the boys were still nervous, her gentle presence was very reassuring to them.

Ardeth sat next to Rick on one of the beds, preferring to stay as close to his brother as possible. He could deal with temple guards and mummies any day, but getting thrown 100 years into the future had shaken his confidence.

Dr. Frasier approached them with a smile. "And who are you two?" she asked, trying to put them at ease. She always took it very slowly with newcomers, knowing that the drastic change of environment was unsettling for them.

Ardeth studied her carefully for a moment. The lady seemed nice enough, but there was a core of steel in her soul—it would not be wise to cross her. "I am Ardeth Bey, and this is my adopted brother, Rick O'Connell."

"Well, it's very nice to meet you. I'm going to give you a medical exam, so first I'm going to need to listen your heart and lungs with this," she indicated the stethoscope. "You know I have a daughter that's probably about your age," she said as she put the round metal disk to Ardeth's chest. "Breathe deeply." After a moment of listening, she wrote a couple of things down on one of the two clipboards she had brought over with her. "Her name's Cassandra." Then she turned and did the same to Rick. "She's adopted too," she said as she smiled up at the boy. "Breathe deeply." He did as she instructed, and after a few times of that, she wrote a bit on his chart.

"Does she like to cook?" Ardeth asked, warily thinking of all of his cousins and their attempts at cooking. The boy pulled his robe a little tighter around himself, shivering in the cool air.

Rick chuckled a little at the question. But the meaning was lost on Janet, who shook her head. "No, she really doesn't care for cooking all that much. She does out of necessity, but she doesn't enjoy it."

"That's reassuring. My cousins all like to try to cook, but usually end up poisoning me." Ardeth told her, with his best serious expression.

"Well, if I ever make the trip to your world, I'll be sure to watch out for that," she said laughing at Ardeth's description.

Rick scoffed a little. "Actually, apparently, you're already on our world," he said, though the words sounded strange as he listened to them come out of his mouth.

Janet didn't stop what she was doing but looked at him confused as she continued working. "What?"

Carter who was sitting on the next bed, answered for them. "Actually, Ardeth and Rick are from Earth of the past."

Janet sighed, and shot Carter a shrewd glance. "Solar flares again?" she asked, continuing her examination of the two boys.

"We think so," Sam replied.

"So does this happen often with you guys?" Rick asked.

Jack, who was sitting on a bed on the other side of the Med-jai, groaned. "Yeah, strangely enough. A little more often than we'd like."

"And how often is that?" Ardeth asked, watching Janet warily as she got out some very long needles.

"How many times would you say Carter?" Jack asked.

Sam thought about it for a second. "About four or five times, sir."

Rick couldn't help squirming slightly as he saw Dr. Frasier produce the needles. He didn't know exactly what they were for, but they were long, pointy, and they looked sharp. That was enough for him to get a general idea. He forced himself to sit still and calm down. They had been tortured by red guards and goa'uld, so he reminded himself that compared to that, whatever she was about to do with that thing would be no big deal . . . he hoped.

Janet noticed the slightly panicked looks on both boys and smiled, turning to get SG-1's blood work done first. Hopefully, seeing what was going on would let the boys calm down slightly.

Both Rick and Ardeth watched carefully as their friends had their blood drawn all without incident. Though O'Neill had to resist the temptation he felt to make a big deal out of it like he usually did in protest. Rick felt a little more at ease when he saw that it looked fairly simple.

After she had finished with the checkup on all five members of SG-1, Janet turned back to Ardeth and Rick. "Your turn, boys. Roll up your sleeves, please."

Rick and Ardeth did as they were told. Rick held out his arm first, and she tied a rubber strip around it, disinfecting the area. "You're going to feel a little pinch, but don't jump." Rick braced himself as she stuck the needle into his arm, but released his breath when he realized that it didn’t hurt all that much. After she took a few vials of blood, she pressed a cotton ball to his arm and took the needle out. "See, now, that wasn't so bad was it?" Janet asked as she bent his arm upward to hold the cotton ball in place. "Now hold that there for a little while,” she said as she put Rick's blood off to the side and turned to Ardeth. Rick turned and smiled at his brother to let him know it wasn't what he had thought it would be.

Ardeth obediently rolled up the loose sleeve of his robe, but it fell back down again as he tried to roll up his shirt sleeve. With a scowl, he slid out of his robe and then rolled up the shirt sleeve, glad that the bandages from his meeting with the goa’uld’s pet were higher up and hidden. He didn't want to have another healer poking around at them.

Within a couple seconds, Janet was done taking the prince's blood, and she whisked away the vials, placing them on the other side of the tray she had set Rick's on. "Okay, you gentlemen are done," she said as she finished scribbling down a few last notes on the boy's charts. By this time all of SG-1 were finished too and waiting a few feet away for them.

"Now what?" Ardeth asked, rolling his sleeve back down and pulling his outer robe on.

"Now you'll go with SG-1. We still have to wait for the results of the blood tests to come back, but aside from that you two are perfectly healthy," she said as she passed off the charts to one of her nurses. "It was very nice to meet you both." She said with a departing smile before going back to her usual duties as the base doctor.

"She takes your blood every time you go on a trip?" Ardeth asked increduously. "Isn't there a better way to find out if you're ill or not? Why not just have a healer examine your aura?"

Jack stared at the boy for a second. "Yes, why didn't I think of that?" he said dryly as he started to lead them all down the hall.

"We don't have that ability," Daniel explained, trying to make up for Jack's sense of humor. "Examining the blood can tell you many things about the body: if you're fighting off an infection, if you are lacking in certain vitamins and minerals in your diet, things like that."

"So far, this is the most efficient way our people have found to evaluate whether someone is healthy or not," Carter added.

"Fascinating. I still prefer Amir's way. Needles are torture!" Ardeth declared, earning a round of laughter from the adults.

"Now see, that I would have to agree with you on!" Jack said.

Ardeth smiled at Jack's comment. "Do we get a tour or this place?"

"Only as far as the VIP quarters for now. We have to go to a debriefing with General Hammond and report back on what happened during our trip. Afterwards, Daniel will come back to get you and show you as much of the base as we're allowed to," Jack replied, volunteering the archaeologist.

Ardeth exchanged a glance with Rick. This would be a very interesting time. "What is a VIP quarter?"

"Um, VIP stands for 'Very Important Person'," Daniel said as he tried to explain. "The VIP quarters are kind of like our equivalent of a guest room."

They approached the room, and the guards outside swiped a card through the locking mechanism and opened the door to let them in. Rick groaned inwardly, not much caring for the fact that their positions had been switched.

Ardeth sighed softly as he stepped in. After the events at Hamunaptra because of the temple guards, he hated being trapped at all. He would have to be very careful to control himself throughout this, or his magic might escape and try to find a way to free both boys.

"If you need anything, talk to the guards here outside the door. We will be back as soon as our debriefing is finished," Jonas assured them. With that, they left and closed the door.

Rick walked over and flopped on the bed. "Well, it seems like we've been here before."

"Yes, this does seem rather familiar. At least we're not badly injured this time, though." Ardeth started exploring the rooms restlessly and smiled when he found the bathroom. The boy slid off his robes and shirt and started undoing the bandages to make certain the wounds were clean.

"Yes, this is an improvement from our tent in the red guard camp." Rick sighed as he started looking around the room. He found a strange box with one side made of glass sitting on a stand in the corner with a wire stretching out of the back and into a hole in the wall. Over in the middle of the room was a small round table with a basket of fruit on it. He walked over and picked a couple of apples from it and brought one to Ardeth. He watched as his brother examined his arms.

"Thank you," Ardeth accepted the apple and put it aside to eat later. "Tahir did an excellent job—they'll be fully healed soon. And no infection at all."

Rick smiled, glad for that news. "That'll be a nice change of pace for us, won't it?"

"Yes, it will. I don't appreciate being locked up, but so far, they haven't given us any cause to distrust them. Any ideas?"

Rick thought for a moment. "Not many. There's this wierd box in the corner but I'm not sure if we should touch it, it looks heavy and breakable. There are a couple cabinets over here,” he said, walking over to them to see what was inside. There was a box of crayons and some paper left over from when Cassandra had stayed there, about fifteen books, many of them ironically enough on Ancient Egypt, and a chess set.

Finally finished cleaning his wounds, Ardeth pulled his shirt and robes back on. "Would you like to practice your chess skills, my friend? After all, you haven't had your humiliation lesson recently!"

Rick looked over his shoulder and gave Ardeth a challenging glare. "I’ll have you know I've been practicing, and this time you’re going down." He pulled it out of the cupboard and brought it over to the table in the center of the room. He moved the fruit basket over to the bed while Ardeth set the board up.

Ardeth smirked at Rick. "We will see, my friend. We will see." He promised, absently starting to eat the apple. He hoped that Daniel would come before they drove each other insane.


	7. Chapter 7

By the time it had taken Ardeth to beat Rick twice, there was finally a knock on the door.

Leaning back in his chair, Ardeth calmly put Rick in checkmate before going to open the door.

"Come on!" Rick groaned in dismay as he realized his king had no room to move. He just stared at the chess board trying to identify the mistake he had made as Ardeth opened the door and Daniel walked in.

"Welcome! You have just ended my dear brother's weekly lesson in strategy and humility!" Ardeth told Daniel, trying very hard not to laugh when he looked back at Rick.

Rick gave Ardeth a withering glare. Rick's strength and weakness was his uncanny ability to make incredibly complex short term plans with the resources currently at his fingertips. However, chess was a game where it was more important to excel strategy with long term goals in mind, a skill at which Ardeth was incredibly gifted. He had to concede that. But he was learning, and he would never let his brother hear the end of it the day he finally beat him.

Daniel coughed a little when he saw the chess board. Ardeth had taken great delight in utterly decimating Rick before finally putting him in checkmate.

"It's really kind of sad, isn't it?" Rick asked, running a hand through his hair as he caught the look on Daniel's face as he examined the lone king surrounded by Ardeth's pieces. He leaned back in his chair in resignation as he flicked the king’s piece over. He shook his head. "You know, your time is coming!" Rick warned Ardeth. "And on that day, I will show no mercy!"

"So you've said, many times before." Ardeth waited until Daniel's back was turned and stuck his tongue out at Rick. "Do we get to see this place now?"

"So childish for a Med-jai," Rick teased then stuck his tongue out as well when Daniel turned to see what Rick was talking about. With that, he quickly began to clear away the chess set.

Daniel tossed his gaze back and forth between them before settling on Ardeth to answer his question. "Sort of. You see, through the years, there have been incidents where we've had incursions on base security. So as there were some things you were not allowed to tell or show us, there are things that we are not allowed to tell or show to you. But there is still a good portion of the base that you have been granted access to by General Hammond. I will show you these parts of the base, and anytime later on that you wish to revisit these areas you can as long as you take the guards at the door with you."

Ardeth's shoulders tensed at that, and he bit the inside of his lip, reminding himself that these people weren't temple guards. It was difficult to fight past the flashbacks, but he would do it—the mind healer his father had sent him to said the flashbacks were normal and would fade with time.

Rick saw Ardeth tense and knew what he was feeling. He tried as best as he could through their connection to reassure Ardeth. He wasn't as well-trained as the prince was at controlling the link between them, so he hoped the feeling got through to him. "Is there anyway we can go outside?" Rick asked as much for his own sake as for his brother's. "I get a little uncomfortable being trapped underground."

Daniel sighed and moved his glasses to rub the bridge of his nose. "I'm afraid not, at least not for a while. I will talk to General Hammond about it, though."

Rick nodded. "I appreciate that."

"You guys are probably starting to get hungry, so I can take you to the mess hall first if you like."

Both boys visibly brightened at that. Daniel laughed and led the way through the halls. The two guards fell into step behind the boys, making both of the boys even more tense.

Once they reached the mess hall, the guards took up post at the door. Rick and Ardeth went through the buffet line, filling their plates with all kind of food. Most of it was types of food that neither of them had seen before but looked appetizing enough. "And your cousins are no where in sight," Rick whispered to Ardeth as he added a small bowl of pudding to his tray.

"This is excellent news, my friend. A meal when I don't have to worry about being ambushed and poisoned!" Ardeth grinned at the older boy as he followed Daniel to a table. Most of the people in the room were trying not to look too curious about the two boys and just sighed when they saw the boys were with SG-1.

"Though we still seem to draw about the same amount of attention," Rick muttered as he caught people looking away, pretending not to stare.

Daniel laughed at how full their trays were by the time they sat down. "That's about as much food as Teal'c usually grabs," he commented when the boys looked at him questioningly.

"Everyone is always pushing us to eat more. Father says we're growing boys, and I need to eat a lot more so that I can be taller than Rick when we're adults." Ardeth told him, starting in on the food eagerly.

Rick nearly choked on the sandwich he had started. "Yeah, that would figure. Listen Ardeth, this is one battle you're gonna lose," Rick said raising an eyebrow and using his cockiest tone. Rick turned to Daniel after a moment and asked, "So what are you planning to do with us?"

Daniel shrugged, managing to look both apologetic and eager. "Well, I'll show you around, of course. The base library will be open to you. I was also hoping to get more information about the Med-jai from you."

Rick looked at Ardeth. There were certain complications that being in the future posed. They wouldn't know what had happened to the Med-jai since their time. They also wouldn't know if telling them now would have any ill-effects, but Rick already knew that Ardeth would err on the side of caution as would he. He also began to wonder if the notes they brought back on Ardeth's books would have any repercussions.

"I do not know if that will be possible—I would need to find out what has happened to my people first before sharing any of our tribal secrets with you." Ardeth told Daniel firmly, but not unkindly.

Daniel nodded understandingly. "Well, you are more than welcome to look through any of the books in my library," he offered. "I also wanted to go over our notes with you. I noticed when we woke all the books had been removed." He placed his papers on the table in front of the prince next to his tray. Ardeth and Rick looked up at Daniel and could see how hard it was for the man to surrender his latest findings, even though he tried not to let it show. "I can understand the value of information, so you can have these if you would feel better that way."

Ardeth picked up the papers and skimmed through them, again surprised at just how much Daniel and Jonas had managed to figure out. "I will allow you to keep these, so long as you swear that you will not go looking for any of the sacred areas that are mentioned. There are evils there that cannot be awakened."

"I promise," Daniel said nodding. "Thank you."

Both boys finished their food at about the same time, and glanced back at the food line. Ardeth turned to Daniel. "What do we do with the trays?"

"Oh, I'll take those for you," Daniel offered, scooping them up and taking them over to a small area next to the kitchen. He came back over and turned to the boys. "So let me show you around some."

"How big exactly is this place?" Ardeth asked, as Daniel started showing them around.

"Oh, it's pretty large , there are thirty levels from the ground level at the top, to the lower most floor," he said as he led them down hallways in the converted missile silo. After a while all of them started to look the same to Rick. "Now here," Daniel said as they made their first stop, “is one of our science labs where Dr. Lee, one of our top scientists, helps Sam to study the plants, animals, and technology that we bring back from other worlds. Dr. Lee this is Ardeth and this is Rick," Daniel said introducing the boys.

"Greetings, Dr. Lee," Ardeth said politely, staring around the science labs in complete amazement and with lots of curiousity.

"Nice to meet you," Dr. Lee said.

"Dr. Lee why don't you show them the project your working on right now?" Daniel suggested.

"Oh, sure," Dr. Lee said as he took his glasses off and rubbed his eyes. He’d been staring at the power converters for hours and if he explained it out loud, it might help him to think through the problem. He began to explain to the boys the intricate workings of naqueda generators, most of which confused Rick greatly, at least when he specifically named components in the system. He looked over at Ardeth to see if he was catching all the super-huge words Dr. Lee was throwing out at them.

Ardeth's eyes were narrowed as he tried to follow what the man was saying. "So, basically, you are using several elements on feedback loops to create enough energy to power almost anything? Don't some of those elements react badly to each other, or cancel each other out?"

"Yeah, they do," Dr. Lee said nodding. "That's part of the problem. In order to make it compatible for most power usage the ions have to be polarized before they can be activated, otherwise the core overloads. But some of the machines we use cancel out the charge in those ions, making the generator dangerous to use if not deadly.” Rick shrugged. He was glad at least Ardeth seemed to get it. Most of it made sense to him too, but it was hard for him to keep track of all the new words that this scientist was using. After a moment, he noticed Dr. Lee's glasses were still sitting there, and his face broke into a small grin before he reigned it back in quickly, assuming a straight face. He looked out of the corner of his eye to see if Daniel was watching him, but the archaeologist was intently listening to Dr. Lee. Seizing the opportunity, Rick subtly swept the glasses off of the table and into his pocket. Now all there was to do was wait and see how long it took for the adults to notice the glasses were missing. His composure remained placid as he tuned back into the conversation.

Moving closer to the generator, Ardeth peered at it for a moment. "This looks remarkably similar to something at Kivi-eir. Only those two wires were switched, and that lump was over here, against the far side."

Daniel and Dr. Lee looked at Ardeth shocked that he knew what a naqueda generator was. "You've seen one of these before?" Dr. Lee stammered.

Rick tilted his head as he looked at his brother. So that's how he knows what they're talking about. Dr. Lee tried the solution Ardeth proposed and was stunned when the generator hummed to life.

Ardeth glanced back at Rick and shrugged, indicating his compass tattoos. He had seen it in one of the protected areas.

Rick chuckled. "Yeah, he does that a lot to me too," he assured the adults.

At that, Daniel smirked. "The general might just have me take you around to every unsolved project on the base, then." Ardeth's eyes widened.

"Um, I don't think I'm that good at solving problems."

"Aw, come on, brother," Rick chuckled egging him on, sensing an opportunity for revenge for the two lost chess matches. "You shouldn't be so modest." He grinned at Ardeth wickedly.

The young prince glared at him. "Be careful, my brother. Father has taught me quite a few more . . . interesting uses for my powers than just defending the sacred areas."

At this, Rick's mouth snapped shut and the look on his face became rather sulky. "Oh sure, if you're going to hide behind that one."

"I don't have to—but the possibility is always open to me, unless you learn from Father much faster than I do!"

"I'll have to make a note of that, now that we've learned that option's available to me."

"Well, let me show you some more of the base," Daniel offered, leading the boys out of the room.

Both boys were absolutely thrilled to be shown the exercise room, especially when they were granted full access to it. "Excellent! We'll be able to work on your scimitar forms more, Rick."

"If they'll let us have our swords back," Rick looked questioningly at Daniel.

The archaeologist shrugged. "I'll see what I can do. It will probably only be for in here, though, and you'll have to be supervised."

Rick nodded, glad at least that they could get that much. He looked at his brother, raising his eyebrows in challenge.

Ardeth smirked at him. "Yet another way for you to receive your dose of humility!"

"We shall see," he replied.

They stopped by Jack's office after that, and the colonel was very happy to see them. Anything to put off the paperwork!

"Yes, gentlemen, come on in,” he said, practically carting them into his office. "Have a seat, make yourself comfortable."

Daniel walked in behind them, eyeing O'Neill suspiciously. "You have a report due to the oversight committee, don't you?"

Jack looked shocked that Daniel might even suggest that. But after Daniel stared at him for a while, he caved. "I might, but nothing is more important than making our guests feel at home!" he said waving at Rick and Ardeth.

Ardeth looked at Jack curiously. "So you are using us as an excuse to not accomplish your duty?"

"Yes," Daniel said without hesitation.

"No," Jack protested. "Making sure you guys are doing alright is part of my duty,"

The young Med-jai rolled his eyes. "Trying to get out of your duty is considered treason among my people."

"Well, your people aren't being strung up by a bunch of political, bureaucratic bean-counters whose only concern is their own agenda and not the safety of this world, especially that Kinsey," Jack grumbled. Daniel tilted his head. He had to agree with Jack on that one. The oversight committee seemed to have no knowledge outside how the stargate program could further their own ambitions.

"Then your leader—the president?—should send them to do a new duty." Ardeth told them, looking around Jack's office at all the strange things curiously.

Jack threw his hands in the air. "Thank you! At least he gets it! That's exactly what we've been trying to tell him, but they keep stonewalling us."

"Unfortunately, they didn't come to their current positions of power without being prepared to hang onto it," Daniel said. "They have considerable influence over the people who make decisions like that, especially since very few of our people even know about the stargate. And you know how hard it is to guard a secret this big."

"Oh, that I understand, quite well." Ardeth murmured, exchanging a glance with Rick about Hamunaptra. After all, Suleimon had come very close to sending Rick back to Cairo and wiping his memory!

Rick caught his glance and held it with a gaze that clearly said, "Yeah no kidding." He shook his head. They don't need to tell us the importance of that.

"You ought to bind this oversight committee to an oath of true service if they cause that many problems, and your leader won't punish them."

"See, if I wasn't so afraid to let Kinsey know you exist, I would take you down there to help me do just that," Jack agreed.

"The oaths of service are binding—that's the best part about them. If you try to break them, then you die a horrible death."

Jack's eye lit up. "I like that idea!" He started snapping his fingers at Daniel. "Get him down to see Hammond, stat! I want be there to witness Kinsey breaking his vow!"

Daniel chuckled at this, "Well, as much as I like that idea too, I think it's important to remember just how bad it would be for Kinsey to find out about these two."

Ardeth, restless, started wandering Jack's office, trying to figure out what everything was for. "Who is this Kinsey you speak of? A very evil man?"

Jack groaned as he ran his fingers over his face and through his hair. "Oh, I don't think 'very evil' quite covers what he is," Jack said in disgust. "He's right up there with system lords. Above possibly." He looked at Daniel who nodded in agreement.

"You will have to be more specific than that. We don’t know who the system lords are or what they are like.” The boy said, examining a digital alarm clock carefully.

Jack leaned forward, resting his weight on the desk. "Let me put it this way: the guy who kidnapped and tortured you and your brother—system lord. Sokar and Kinsey have many things in common, but especially this: all they want is to gather more power, and they don't care who they have to squash to get it."

"That is despicable. He does need to be bound to the oath of service. Father bound every one of the warriors after… the events that took place a couple of months ago."

"We're guessing that's not something you could tell us about," Jack guessed by the way that Ardeth had paused.

Ardeth shrugged. "The details, no. Generalities—it was how Rick and I met. Enemies of my tribe kidnapped both of us and tortured us before Father rescued us."

Jack nodded. "I'm sorry," he paused a moment, shaking his head slightly. "I wouldn't put it past this guy, and that's why we're not letting him anywhere near you. Then leaning back and looking disgustedly at the unfinished document on his desk, he sighed. "Now if you gentlemen would excuse me, I have to finish this mess." Then he leaned forward eagerly again. “But if you need anything, and I mean anything, call me!" Daniel shook his head at his friend's desperate plea.

"We'll keep that in mind," Ardeth promised, and glanced around the room one last time, memorizing possible pranks.

On the way to Daniel's library, they passed the science lab, and as they passed it, Rick peeked inside to see Dr. Lee tearing the room apart in search of the glasses he misplaced. Rick turned away quickly to keep from bursting out laughing. Once they reached the library, Rick and Ardeth took a look around and were amazed at the number of books Daniel had collected over the years.

"No wonder you were able to figure out our codes so quickly!" Ardeth said, shaking his head as he looked around.

"It was pretty sophisticated. I kept hitting the same wall over and over again. Actually, it was Jonas who managed to figure it out. He can learn things much faster than we can. He's been key in helping me actually decipher a lot of unknown languages, including a few variations of Ancient dialects."

"What do you mean, he can learn faster than we can? He is human, isn't he?" Ardeth asked, thinking of the polite, quiet man.

"Well, he is in a way, but he's a more advanced level of human than most humans on Earth are. His people were taken from our world millennia ago through the stargate. His people and ours developed along similar lines, but not completely. His people are a little less advanced as far as technologies go, but they are also more physically advanced than we are. After being here for only a week, he had learned my notes so thoroughly that he was able to take over my job for a year. That's a week fresh from another planet, another history, another background, and he knew enough about our culture that he could play an essential role in SG-1. I think he's still learning just how that impacts his abilities."

"That is very impressive. I learn quickly, but not that quickly." Ardeth shook his head in amazement. "I can just imagine the reactions people must have when they find out about that—does he get kidnapped a lot?"

Daniel laughed. "Well he's had his share; we all have. But about a year ago, one of the Goa'uld system lords, Niirti—took a particular interest in him, so she took him and put him in a machine that change his body right down to his DNA. She was looking to create an advanced human stable enough to take as a host in order to have more power than the rest of the system lords."

Ardeth wrinkled his nose at that. "The Creatures always crave power—and that is their downfall. Someday, they will all be destroyed."

Jackson nodded. "Yeah, that's the dream. That's why we're all here and do what we do."

"You sound as though you have the heart of a Med-jai." Ardeth murmured, finding a book written in Ancient Egyptian and opening it,

Daniel smiled. From what he had seen of the Med-jai so far, he considered them an honorable people and it gave him no end of delight for the prince to speak of him this way. "Thank you, Ardeth. That means a lot to me. I want to learn as much about your tribe as you will let me, so please help yourself to any of the books you see."

Rick began poking around the shelves and then all of the sudden blanched as his eyes fell on one particular book. "Um, Ardeth, you’re not gonna believe this!" he called as he took the gun cloth out of his pocket and picked the book off the shelf. "You'd better come take a look at this!" As Ardeth walked over his eyes fell on the book in Rick's hands. It was the same book they had found with Evy in the Museum library at Cairo with red temple guard symbols marked the cover.


	8. Chapter 8

"Curses! Put it down, quickly. The poison should have worn off by now, but better not to take chances. Is there somewhere safe that Rick can throw that cloth?" Ardeth demanded, turning to Daniel.

Daniel picked up a trashcan and brought it over to Rick, a very confused look on his face. "What's going on?"

"This book is one of the secret volumes of one of the tribes of the temple guards. Have you read this one before?" The young prince asked, watching the book warily.

"Not yet. It was part of a collection I inherited from the woman whose father discovered the gate."

Rick put the book down on the table in the middle of the room and tossed the cloth into the trash can.

The boy sighed softly. "I don't know of any way to make certain that the poison is completely gone. There might be other traps put in there, also. The temple guards do have magic, though it isn't as strong or as developed as Med-jai powers. They still do have nasty traps, though."

Daniel nodded and moved over to the phone to have one the base's units come in and check for poison. They examined the tome, being careful not to touch it. After they got done scanning the area where the book had been, the table, and the book itself they determined that the poison had long since dissipated. As they left, Rick looked over at Ardeth. "So can you tell if there are any spells protecting it? There didn't seem to be a problem when Evy and I opened it that day."

"Neither of you were Med-jai at that time." Ardeth pointed out, and rested his hands on the cover. Taking a deep breath, he used one of the common detection spells, hoping that would be strong enough.

Rick watched nervously as Ardeth stood at the table with his hands on the book, watching his brother carefully, ready to help him immediately if something went wrong.

After several minutes, Ardeth whispered a few counter spells, and pulled back, shaking from an adrenaline high. "Well, I disabled all of the traps I could find. There were some nasty ones in there, but they were mostly low-key. It should be safe to read now."

Rick stepped forward and placed and hand on his shoulder to steady him. Daniel stepped forward and took the book slowly in his hands and waited for a second. Nothing. Then after taking a deep breath, he held the book arms length and opened the cover. Still nothing, so he pulled the book closer and began flipping through the pages.

Ardeth found a chair that was surrounded by piles of books, but clear itself, and settled into it. "It is very fortunate that no one ever bothered to open it, or they would have gone blind."

At hearing this, Daniel once again held it at arms length for a second before going back to reading it. Rick scoffed in wonder at how lucky he and Evy had been when they handled that book before. He looked over at Daniel. "So what's it say?"

Daniel was frowning at it. "It's in a code similar to the one that your books were in. Give me a few minutes . . ." he trailed off, scrambling for paper, and apparently forgot they were there.

Rick laughed at how absorbed Dr. Jackson had become. He turned back to his brother. "Why does that thing keep turning up? I'm not so sure it's a coincidence that we happened to find the same book two times in a row."

"I don't know. It is strange, though. When he gets done with it, if we are still here, I will read it, and see what I can learn about the temple guards and their plans. Hopefully they are smart enough not to put any of the names of the sacred areas into the book."

Rick nodded in agreement. The last thing they needed was for Daniel and their friends to learn about these secret places and take their exploring to Egypt to look for the City of the Dead. "Well, in the mean time, maybe some of his other books can help give us an idea of what the Med-jai are doing in this time.”

"It appears the English books are over there—do you want to start there, and I'll go over here with the Arabic and Ancient Egyptian?"

"Sounds good to me," Rick said as he headed over to gather a few books, perusing over the titles and table of contents to discern which ones would more likely be of use to them. After a while, he had collected a stack of books and was also shocked to find Evy's favorite book among them. Picking it up and examining it more closely, he saw her writing on the inside of the cover. "Did the woman you inherited these books from happen to say where she got these?" he asked his eyes never leaving the flow of Evelyn’s delicate cursive.

"Uh, yeah," Daniel replied distractedly still engrossed in his translations. "Her father bought most of them from the Museum of Antiquities in Cairo for his research once they found the gate."

Ardeth looked up at that, startled. "I am surprised Uncle Terrence would sell any books. Or that Evy would allow him to," he added, smirking, and looked over at his friend.

Rick chuckled, shaking his head. "She'd beat him to death with them first."

"Well, apparently there was some sort of incident at the museum sometime around 1926," Daniel said as he got up to consult the notes he had made on Ardeth's books taking them back to his chair again.

"An incident? That does not sound good." Ardeth murmured, wondering if an 'incident' was as bad as he was thinking.

"Well, the entire city banded together and raided the museum. To this day no one knows why. There were only four unidentified survivors. They've never been able to figure out who they were, how they survived or why the town went mad in the first place. But it took them a few days afterwards to establish a new curator. A young woman, apparently the old curator's assistant. But she didn't stay there long, and when she left a good deal of the books were sold."

Ardeth turned to Rick, wondering if the other boy had felt the same chill he had. "I think something very bad happened then."

Rick nodded as he stared at his brother, fear in his glance. "Do you have any books on what happened or newspapers we could look at?"

"No! We cannot chance knowing any more, my brother. If we know more, then when we get home, we may change the future. And that could have disastrous consequences."

"But, Ardeth, haven't we already changed the future just by being here?"

Ardeth shrugged. "I don't think so. As long as we don't tell anyone or act on any information we learn here, we shouldn't affect the timeline, at least not too much. One of the protected sites houses someone who thought playing with time would be a good idea."

"Okay," Rick said at length. He sat down at the table and touched the page gently where Evy's handwriting was, and just to know that she apparently had made it through whatever had happened gave him some reassurance. But he looked up at Ardeth to see if he was going to be alright.

The younger boy was settled back in the chair, skimming through the book he had chosen. Every now and then he would rub his temple, trying to get rid of a headache from using his magic again, so soon after nearly overdoing it.

After a moment, Rick went back to scanning books. After going through about twenty books without many references at all to people even resembling Med-jai, Rick stopped for a moment to rub his eyes. For a moment he wished Evy were here. She was amazing with research. "Well, either the Med-jai are still the experts of stealth they were in our time, or they disappeared off of the face of the earth altogether. Had any luck?" he asked Ardeth.

"There are a few veiled references to the tribes," Ardeth murmured, leaning back in the chair and closing his eyes, rubbing them with the heels of his hands. "We interfered in a few large wars, and actually managed to become a very popular legend. If we were in the Sahara, I think we would be able to find our way home."

"Yeah, but it wouldn't be our home," Rick said as he put away the books he had eliminated, needing a short break for his eyes before he went back to searching again. "Our home is back in 1917, with your dad, your grandmother, and even your cousins."

"I know. But I don't know where to start in trying to find a way back to our time." Ardeth said, looking up at Rick. The younger boy was frightened that they wouldn't be able to get home, though he was doing his best to hide that fear behind all of his training.

"No, we're going to get home," Rick said firmly trying to be strong for his brother. "If these guys can do it, we can do it."

"Yes, we will. We have to." Ardeth took a deep breath and put down the books to stretch.

Daniel jumped up suddenly, startling the two boys. He cheered excitedly as he looked down at his notes. Then catching the boys’ inquisitive stares, he started to explain his words all coming out in a rush, tumbling over each other. "It's the Book of the Dead! Well, I'm not certain it's the original Book of the Dead, there have rumored to be a couple of copies here and there. But this could be one of the greatest archaeological finds in history!... I gotta go tell Jonas!" He started to rush to the door.

Ardeth's eyes widened. "Oh no!" He scrambled to his feet and ran to intercept Daniel, so agitated that he wasn't explaining to Rick in any one language.

But Rick didn't need to understand what Ardeth was saying; he was already moving at the same time Ardeth was to block Dr. Jackson's path. Dr. Jackson nearly tripped over the two boys as they barely caught him before he made it out the door. His face went from enthusiastic to confused. "What?"

"We can't let you have that book," Rick said firmly, fear in his eyes. He had heard a few campfire stories about this book when he had been a child, but aside from that he didn't know anything about it. However, he knew nothing good could possibly come from the "Book of the Dead". Plus, it had frightened him just to see Ardeth's reaction to Daniel's news. It took a lot to get him worked up like that, and that in and of itself couldn't be a good sign.

"Please, that accursed thing must be destroyed, now!" Ardeth told Daniel, nearly shaking with the effort to keep himself calm enough to speak English. "With this, unspeakable horrors can be awakened, and all that the Med-jai have sought to protect undone."

Daniel had been through enough with SG-1 to know that some discoveries were better left uncovered but still it pained him to hand the book over to Ardeth. Ardeth seemed to know first-hand a great deal of the sort of evils SG-1 faced so he knew it wasn't just an exaggeration from a young mind. Gravely, he went back to his chair and began to look at the notes he had taken.

Carefully, the boy put the book down on a clear spot in the middle of the floor and took a deep breath. "There are spells woven into it to make it hard to destroy, so I will have to use a very powerful spell. I am almost certain that I will pass out afterwards, though," he warned Rick.

Rick nodded once again moving to stand behind Ardeth. Daniel watched the boys from where he sat.

Ardeth sat down near the book and closed his eyes, meditating for several minutes to center himself. Then he sat up straight, and fixed his eyes on the book, chanting in the Med-jai dialect of Ancient Egyptian. After five minutes, the book started to glow and vibrate. Nearly ten minutes later, it exploded with a tremendous bang, sending a cloud of dust flying into the air. The guards who had been standing outside the door came running in, guns drawn, to find out what had happened. Ardeth slumped over, unconscious.

"It's alright," Daniel assured them. The guards looked at the prince still uncertain. "It's okay," Daniel said again. "Does he need to go see Dr. Frasier?" he asked Rick.

"No," Rick answered. "He just needs to rest now. Only this time he's going to have to rest longer. Technically, he's not supposed to do these things until he's stopped growing, but in the past two months we haven't seemed to have much choice in the matter." Daniel nodded and picked Ardeth up gently in his arms and carried him down to the room where the boys were staying. After placing Ardeth on one of the beds, Daniel went back to his library for a moment and brought back the books they had left on the table in case they hadn't finished searching yet. As he left, he turned to Rick.

"You let us know if you need anything."

Rick nodded pulling the chair up to the bed his brother lay on. "We never do seem to get a break do we?" he murmured, even though he knew Ardeth couldn't hear him.

It was several hours later before Ardeth woke up. The boy moaned softly as his eyes opened. "Rick? Did it work?" he asked, throwing an arm over his face to shield his sensitive eyes from the light. He had a horrible reaction headache now.

"Yeah, Daniel's probably done cleaning up the mess in his library by now. While Ardeth had been asleep, he had been mostly exploring the workings of the devices in the room and had discovered that the lights were on a dimmer. Seeing Ardeth shield his eyes, he lowered the level of the lighting. "Jonas came by while you were out and left some of the medicine he has for headaches for you to take when you woke up." He said picking up the pills and the glass of water. "He said it's important to remember to swallow them whole, not to chew, like he did the first time."

The boy examined the pill carefully. "This looks like no medicine I've ever encountered, but at this point, I'm willing to try almost anything!"

"Good," Rick said glad that he wouldn't have to sit on his brother and force feed him the medicine like he nearly did last time.

Ardeth swallowed the pill, nearly gagging from the unfamiliar action and feel. He drained the glass of water, and leaned back against the pillows, shifting on the uncomfortable bed. "How long was I out?"

"Well, it's been about six hours. Teal'c came in to check on you before he was getting ready to go home, Sam's still in her lab. Daniel and Jonas are researching Sokar in his library and Jack popped in a minute or two ago saying that he was going to bring us some dinner." Rick smirked. "From the look in his eye, I don't think he's getting it from the mess hall.”

"As long as it's food, semi-edible, and not poisoned, I don't care where it's from. I need to eat. Amir is going to kill me for doing more magic!"

"Well, he said something about treating us to American food, and then he corrected himself by saying it's not actually American food, but we make it better than anyone else."

At that moment, there was a knock at the door. Opening it, Rick stepped aside and Jack walked in with a stack of pizza boxes in his arms.

"Gentlemen, I present to you the food of kings!" the colonel said dramatically as he opened the box.

"What is it?" Ardeth asked, getting off of the bed and moving slowly over to the table. "It does smell good."

"We call it 'pizza', and it is without a doubt the greatest invention known to mankind," Jack said as he sat down and started dishing out slices for the boys and then taking one for himself. Rick had never seen this kind of foods either, but it tasted excellent so he quickly devoured his slice and then looked at Jack. "Go ahead, he said waving at the boxes. "That's why I got three."

Between the three of them, they managed to finish off almost all of the three boxes. When one of the guards glanced in to make certain everything was all right, he was amazed at how much food the three had eaten.

Jack glanced up at him around a mouth full of food. "I just wanted to show these boys a little taste of our country."

But the sergeant, knowing Jack's particular love of pizza saw through that in a second. "Sure you did, sir," he said as he closed the door and stepped back outside.

Leaning back in the chair, Ardeth managed a real smile, noticing that between the medicine and the food, his headache was gone. "Thank you for providing dinner for us," he said politely, taking off his robe and tossing it onto the bed. It had finally warmed up in their room.

"Anytime, " Jack said with a smile on his face. "Anytime you want pizza, let me know. I'll score some more for you. Well, I need to get some sleep or I'll never hear the end of it from Daniel tomorrow about how cranky I am." The man rolled his eyes and stood. "You know someday he's going to learn that he hasn't seen me cranky yet." Then his mood turned pleasant again. "Goodnight fellas. See you tomorrow."

"Goodnight, colonel. May your dreams be pleasant," Ardeth said, the traditional statement out before he realized it might sound a little odd.

Jack just paused for a second at the door, but then figuring it was probably customary for Ardeth, he kept going. "Yes, goodnight."

"Goodnight, colonel," Rick said as he closed the door. He leaned back in his chair. "I think we should take this recipe with us!" Rick proposed really only half-teasing. "Come on, people know about as much about the Med-jai now as they did back then. No one would notice." He pulled out Dr. Lee's glasses and put them on his head and nearly fell out of the chair because of the change in depth perception.

Laughing at him, Ardeth took the glasses from Rick and knocked on the door. When the guard opened the door, the boy smiled innocently at him. "I think Dr. Jackson left his glasses in here," the boy said, purposely giving the wrong person. With any luck, the glasses would bounce from person to person for quite a while.

At first when Ardeth had taken the glasses away, Rick had been going to protest but when he heard Ardeth's plan, he smiled deviously. "You're a genius!"

"Thank you, my brother," Ardeth was grinning as he went into their attached bathroom to prepare for bed. He yelped when he burned his hand with the hot water—it got hot much faster than he expected.

Startled, Rick came over to check and see if his brother was ok. “What happened?” he said as he got to the door.

"Be careful, that water is hot!” Ardeth warned, shaking the water off of his hand and gingerly examining the burn. “Do you have any other ideas for pranks we can play on our new friends?”

"It would be fun to start a food fight in the mess hall, but I don't think we should go through with that or they might confine us to quarters. There are a lot of artifacts in Dr. Jackson's office. Can you imagine his confusion if one of them were to go missing?"

"I think all we would have to do is switch a few of them." Ardeth went back into the main room, and flopped onto the bed. "Tomorrow we ought to get some training in—we don't want to be behind when we get home."

Rick nodded as he went over to his bed. "Yeah, we can ask them in the morning for our scimitars. Maybe we could even train with Teal'c some. You know, Col. O'Neill seems like the type who would play pranks. Maybe we could enlist his help and he could help steer us away from the pranks that could get us into trouble. I'll tell you most of the stuff I've seen so far on the base, I'm half afraid to touch."

The younger boy nodded. "I know the feeling. I wonder, if things are this different here in America after just one hundred years, I wonder what it will be like at home?"

Rick shook his head. His mind was already spinning from this. Cairo hadn’t changed in the entire time that he had lived there. He wondered what a hundred years would have done to the streets he used to walk, the orphanage he had stayed at, even the Museum of Antiquities. He laid his head back on the pillow and looked up at the ceiling. The ceiling was a bleak slab of solid concrete. He genuinely hoped that General Hammond would allow them to go outside, even just for a moment. He knew it would do Ardeth a world of good to breathe fresh air for a while, and Rick certainly wanted to be out in the open again. After being trapped in Hamunaptra, trapped in the ruins of Ahm Khalud, and now sort of trapped here, he was starting to feel the walls closing in on him. But he didn’t tell Ardeth and did his best not to let it show, because he knew his brother was already reeling from the sense of being a prisoner again. He was not going to add to that.

"Come my brother, let us sleep—tomorrow will be another adventure, I’m certain.” Ardeth pulled the two beds closer together, so that they were right beside each other, and settled on one of them. He spread his robes over the stiff, starched pillowcases, so that the scent of the desert would hopefully follow them into their dreams.


	9. Chapter 9

Since the environment was so foreign, it took Rick a while to go to sleep, added to which his mind was racing from the day’s events. Through his dreams played strange images of the stargate and the events that led him here and then the image of himself, Ardeth and SG-1 on this small strange ship. With Jack sitting at the helm, Rick and Ardeth were heading home, though how, he was not sure. When he woke up, it was still very dark and it took him a while to realize that he was still at Stargate Command. He sat up, stretching slowly and yawning.

Ardeth was still asleep, curled up under the covers, one hand reaching towards Rick. He had been resting his hand on Rick's forehead, like usual, but hadn't woken up when the older boy moved.

Rick looked over at Ardeth a little concerned but also taking into account that he had been through a lot the day before. Still, he searched the connection between them trying to assess how his brother was physically.

Sensing the contact through their bond, Ardeth stirred a little, enough to realize that he wasn't touching Rick. Nearly panicking, the boy sat up and looked around, only to sigh in relief when he found Rick still in the room and not injured.

Rick realizing what happened drew back. "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."

"It's all right. This is becoming a bad habit for me—you're waking up before me a lot recently," Ardeth said, around a yawn.

"That's why I was worried," Rick confessed.

"I think it's just because I drained my reserves by doing so much magic. Once I have a chance to recover, I'll be back to normal." Ardeth promised, rubbing his eyes.

"Okay," Rick said, inwardly breathing a sigh of relief. "I can let you sleep longer if you need."

"No, I'm awake now, mostly." The younger boy slid out of the bed, and made his way into the bathroom. "I wonder if there's any way to get our clothes cleaned while we're here. It's nasty to stay in the same clothing for a while."

Rick chuckled, "I'm sure they could get us some extra clothes but I'm not sure if it'll fit us." He walked to the door and asked the guards if they could have a change of clothes and one of them ran off to fetch them. He was back in a few minutes with a pair of uniforms. Rick thanked him and brought the clothes into the room.

Ardeth held the pants to his waist, and laughed as he saw how long they were. "Well, at least they're clean." He slipped into the bathroom to figure out how to work the base shower and not scald himself.

After Ardeth was done showering, Rick took his turn. Afterward he tried to put on the uniform. Finally getting fed up with how uncooperative it was being, Rick took his suspenders from his pair of pants and attached them to the camo pair. Now that he wasn't fighting with them anymore he slipped into the jacket which swallowed him whole but wouldn’t be as hard to keep on.

Ardeth was wearing the pants and shirt from the uniform, and had both rolled up a lot. He hadn't even tried the jacket on. He turned when he heard the door, and started snickering as soon as he saw Rick.

Rick shook his head. "Sure, go on, laugh. You know you look pretty silly too," he said as he placed his old clothes on top of his bed.

"I am quite aware of it. But I intend to make full use of my robes." To prove his words, the younger boy grabbed the black garment and slid it on, closing it completely for once, so that all that could be seen of the ill-fitting clothing was a sleeve that had come unrolled.

Rick stuck his tongue out at Ardeth for a moment, then sighed in resignation. "You're right, I should have let Jamilia make those Med-jai robes for me. He looked down at himself. I think they gave me Teal'c's spare uniforms."

"I wonder whose spare clothing I got. This is just ridiculous! It will be nearly impossible to have a proper duel in this." With a sigh, the boy pushed the sleeve of his shirt up. "Come on, let's see if we can find our way back to where they have the food."

Rick eagerly agreed with that, even though he was certain that he would get more than a few stares.

Ardeth opened the door and gave the guards his best pleading expression. "Which way is it to the food?"

"Follow us," the guards said as they began to lead the boys through the maze of tunnels towards the mess hall. Rick tried to keep Ardeth between him and people that passed them in the hall as best as possible all the way there.

"These passageways are almost worse than the tunnel network at Hamunaptra!" Ardeth whispered to Rick, doing his best to memorize the path they took.

“Yeah, and it doesn’t help the all the hallways look the same,” O’Connell agreed. Once they reached the mess hall, Rick had to abandon his position hiding behind his brother and get in line at the buffet. Once he had loaded up on the breakfast food, he moved to sit at one of the tables. He held in a groan when he noticed all the faces looking in his direction.

Ardeth paused next to him, and raised an eyebrow at the people staring at them, fixing them with his best regal stare. It worked—the people, embarrassed, turned back to their own food. “Come, brother—there’s an empty table over there.”

"Thanks," Rick whispered having seen his brother's influence on his behalf. Once he sat down, he looked over at Ardeth who sat across for him. "Well, from all the books that we looked through yesterday there isn't any reference, that I found at least, to Hamunaptra except as a legend or a myth," He said in a low tone that only the prince could hear. "I think it's safe to say that its existence has successfully been kept a secret and that our pal hasn't been awakened."

"That is a fairly safe assumption—and a wonderful one. Well, I suggest that we learn our way around here as best as possible, in case we're going to be here for a while. I want to look through the rest of the books from the Museum later, in case there's something we can use."

"I'll save a muffin and we can leave a trail of bread crumbs," Rick joked. "And we should see if we can talk to Sam today. From what Jonas said while you were out yesterday, she's the one in charge of trying to find a way to get us home. From what they said back at the infirmary, they indicated that they have traveled through time on multiple occasions. Now, it hardly seems possible that they could have done this so many times and make it back purely by accident, don't you think?"

The younger boy nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, we will definitely have to talk to her. There may be some way that we know about through our powers that they don't have available to them."

"But after breakfast you and I have an appointment on the dueling floor for your lesson in humility," Rick said as he eyed Ardeth challengingly, even though he knew he could still take Rick any day when it came to a battle with scimitars. He didn't mind either. Ardeth had been teaching him a lot over the past month. Then he looked down at his uniform. "Though I think we may have to ask if they can find a smaller size for both of us though, or we might end up impaling ourselves."

Ardeth laughed. "Yes, it will be rather difficult to work on your form if I can't see your limbs at all!" He poked cautiously at the bowl of jello on his tray, watching as it jiggled. "Do you think this stuff is really food?"

"I'm not sure," Rick said holding up a spoon of his own. Finally working up the courage, he shrugged and stuck half a bite in his mouth. "It tastes good, very sweet. The texture’s kind of odd, but over all I'd say not bad." It definitely beat a meal at the orphanage, of that Rick was certain.

Shaking his head, the younger boy pushed it away. "I don't want to chance it. It reminds me too much of a few of my cousins' earliest attempts at cooking. Especially the green color."

Rick shrugged and moved Ardeth’s serving to his own tray of food.

"Mind if we join you?" Jack's voice sounded behind them. They looked over and Teal'c and Jack were standing by their table with their breakfast trays.

"Of course," Ardeth scooted gestured the men to the two empty chairs. "Good morning,” he said politely, as the adults sat down. One of the sleeves had come unrolled again, and he scowled as he wiped off the butter it had dragged in and rolled it again.

Jack was looking at the boys his usual bemused expression in place. "It might just be me, but I'm not sure that the uniforms fit."

Rick gave him a withering glare. "Well, we didn't think you'd appreciate us waiting until our own clothes are ripe for us to change.

"Oh, no, I applaud that decision," Jack assured him.

"Do we not have a few uniforms left over from the time we found your younger clone on the base?" Teal’c offered.

"Yes, I'm sure we could drag some of those out for you two." Jack said nodding.

"It would be very good to have some clothing that is clean and fits a little better. As it is, it will be difficult for Rick to provide me any challenge at all later during his scimitar lessons."

Rick shook his head in amusement. "Oh I'll provide a challenge. I'll just pull out my guns," he teased.

"And I'll just knock them out of your hands, like I do every time you try that trick," Ardeth told him, and decided that fruit loops did not really taste that great.

Rick shook his head, still amazed at his brother's skill. Even against a weapon that usually gave the greater advantage, he always seemed to find a way to tip the scales in his favor. Rick had been shocked the first time he had done this, and it had become somewhat of an inside joke between them. Then he turned to Jack and Teal'c. "By the way, I think we need to get your permission so we can get our scimitars back so we can practice after breakfast."

"Yeah, sure." Jack said nodding. "T, do you think you could bring their scimi-whatchamawhosits from the armory for them after breakfast?"

Teal'c paused in his stead eating to nod. "I will take care of it, O'Neill." The man said, then turned back to his food. Both boys watched the Jaffa eat with ill-disguised awe.

Jack looked back and forth between them and Teal'c. "Going off-world, or even back in time, builds up a big appetite," he said, assuming they were staring because of how much food he had on his tray.

"I think you would definitely win at the food-eating contest at the celebration each year." Ardeth told Teal'c, trying not to smile. "Father usually wins, but I am certain that you would be able to beat him."

Teal'c smiled. "The metabolism of a Jaffa requires a great amount of nourishment to sustain it."

Rick's eyebrows raised. From the mountain of fruits and breakfast foods, he would have thought it possibly to feed a unit of Med-jai soldiers on what to Teal'c was one meal.

Finally finding a bagel on his own tray, Ardeth ate that, relieved to have something relatively normal to eat. "Is there a trick for learning the way around here?" Ardeth asked, glancing around the room at all of the uniformed personnel.

Jack shrugged, "It takes a while to get used to how to get around this place. I had to study the blueprints a few times."

"Is there a version of those that we could see? That would help a great deal." The boy asked, leaning back in his chair to watch everything that was going on.

Jack thought about it for a second, then nodded. "I'll have Carter pull one up for you, though a good portion of the rooms will not be identified. We'll talk to Hammond, and if you get granted more access, we'll update them for you with the new areas you're allowed to visit."

Ardeth nodded. "That would be fine. Just so long as we have some idea of where to go. Are you done eating yet, Rick? I'm eager to get in a few rounds."

"Almost," Rick said. He turned to Jack a sly smile on his face, "Ardeth and I were wondering if you could help us with something,"

Jack eyed both boys warily. "What sort of thing?" the colonel asked, unable to repress his own smirk.

"We've been trying to come up with ideas for pranks we could play on the other people around here, but we're not exactly sure what would be the limits we should set on it to make sure we don't cause to big of a hassle for your people to run this place. And with the difference in technology, we don't want to do anything to put anyone in danger," Rick's smile broadened, "So we were looking to find some inside help."

Jack's eyes lit up and he leaned back in his chair, rubbing his hands together. "Well, boys, I would be happy to help you out with this matter. However, I think we should discuss it in a more private setting. Stop by my office later."

Rick shook his hand on it and started to finish up the last of his eggs. In between bites he began to ask Teal'c about Jaffa training, wondering if it was as intense as Med-jai training.

Also listening carefully, the young prince was comparing what Teal'c said with what he knew. He asked several questions, surprising the adults with what he knew.

Rick listened to the details and found he could picture Teal'c very well as a Med-jai warrior. A good deal of the phases of training sounded similar to the stages that Ardeth had told him about when he had started out.

"When exactly do you begin your primary weapon training? Before or after basic hand to hand?" Ardeth asked, completely immersed in the discussion now.

"We start out with hand-to-hand," Teal'c explained. "There may come a time in a warrior's life when no weapon will be available for him to defend himself with. Also, as children we are trained to believe that the weapon is merely an extension of our bodies, and that there should be no enemy that you could oppose with the weapon that you could not defeat without it. It is for this reason that it is essential that our soldiers master hand-to-hand with various opponents before he is given a weapon to train with."

"Yes, that is also how the Med-jai train. Often, a child does not even hold a stick sword until after they have completed the first three levels of training in hand-to-hand combat." The boy considered Teal'c for a moment. "I would be honored if sometime during our stay here, you and I could spar."

"The honor would be mine," Teal'c replied as inclined his head in respect to Ardeth. By this time Rick had finished up his eggs and took care of his and Ardeth's trays as he had seen Daniel do the day before.

Ardeth turned to Jack, who had just finished his fruit loops. "Clothes that fit?" the boy asked hopefully, trying not to snicker when he saw Rick's pant leg unroll and nearly trip him.

Jack nodded as he stood. "I'll bring them to your room." And with that he took care of his tray and left to find one of the base's many storage rooms. Rick sat down incredibly embarrassed but he didn't let it show on his face, trying to maintain his dignity.

"Come on, my brother. Let's get back to the room before our clothing succeeds where the temple guards and creatures have failed, and kills us."

Rick chuckled and stood nodding to Teal'c as he rose. "Thanks for sitting with us," he said. It set them more at ease in this strange place to be with people they knew.

Teal'c inclined his head. "It was my pleasure. I will meet the two of you in the training salle in two hours with your weapons."

"Thank you," Rick said with a smile. "We'll see you there." He turned to Ardeth as they headed out the door. And now we try to find our way back to our room. I think it was this way," he said, turning to the left at the junction.

"My friend, we must work on your mapping abilities. We turned left when we came in here, therefore in retracing our steps, we must go right."

"Okay," Rick fell into step beside Ardeth. He had been around places like Hamunaptra a lot longer than Rick had and those places were next to impossible for Rick to figure out. So he knew that Ardeth would remember better than he did.

It helped them to find their room since there was a new pair of guards waiting there to take over duty from the two that were following the boys.

It was both amusing and sent a chill down Rick's spine at the same time, but he held his composure as they walked into their room. Rick sat down on his bed as they waited for Jack to show up with the smaller uniforms.

As soon as the door was closed, Ardeth stripped off his robe and the shirt, and threw them onto the bed. Their dirty clothes had been taken, presumably to be cleaned.

Rick tossed his shirt to the foot of the bed glad to be out of the glorified tent. He walked over to the table and began to look again through one of the books that Dr. Jackson had left them the day before. After a few minutes there was a knock on the door.

The younger boy pulled his robe on and answered the door. Jack was there, holding a pile of clothing. “Thank you!” Ardeth snatched the clothing, very eager to have an outfit that was actually his size.

"You're welcome," Jack replied. "I have to go talk to Carter and then I have to talk to Hammond. Come by my office after you guys and Teal'c are done with your little sparring match. I already have a list on Daniel and Jonas, even got a few on T."

"Excellent. We'll be by sometime today," Ardeth promised, and closed the door, tossing Rick the slightly larger size clothing.

"Yes!" Rick said with a grin as he held the clothes up against himself. "Much better." He slipped out of the old clothes and into the new pair. It was almost a perfect fit. The sleeves on the jacket were a little long but the elastic in the cuffs kept them from sliding over his wrists. Sighing, he sat down in the chair at the table. "I feel better now."

Ardeth also changed, but only into the pants and the shirt. They were a little big on him, but not anywhere near as bad as the previous outfit. "This I can work with!" he declared, rolling the sleeves so that they wouldn't be in the way.

"Not bad. They look good on you." Rick was surprised actually how well the camo seemed to suit him. After all he had never seen his brother in anything but his Med-jai robes. "So, shall we head down to the training room?"

"Let's. I like your outfit—this style is much more appealing now that it actually fits us." Ardeth led the way out, and the guards did a double take when they saw the boys wearing clothing that fit.

Rick had to hold in his laughter at their surprised expressions. "Do you remember the way to the training room?" Rick asked Ardeth.

"I think so." Ardeth shrugged a little. "I'm sure if we get lost we can find someone to ask directions from," he said, trying not to smile. Since they would have two guards following them all the time, they definitely would have someone to ask.


	10. Chapter 10

It didn't take them too long to find it again. Rick glanced at the gear in a bin against one of the walls. Strange red padded helmets and huge padded gloves, and he wondered what they used them for since they didn't appear to be sturdy enough for battle.

Teal'c wasn't there yet, so Ardeth motioned Rick over to one of the mats. "Let's get completely warmed up. You know all of the stretches—go ahead and begin."

Rick began to do the stretching exercises. Now that the gunshot wound from their escapade at Hamunaptra had completely healed these exercises were a lot easier. After he had first begun his training, it had taken a while before he could get the newly-healed muscles to comply readily to the exercise his Med-jai training required. But now his arm had finally gotten used to being used on a regular basis again.

The younger boy moved through the stretches also, hissing a little as it tugged against his fresh scratches from the unas. He ignored the discomfort though, and focused completely on his exercises.

Rick, hearing the hiss, glanced over momentarily at Ardeth. He wondered how well his injuries were healing. With all the commotion over the past twenty-four hours, Rick had almost completely forgotten about their run in with Sokar.

Ardeth found the physical exertion to be relaxing, and helpful in clearing his mind. By the time he was done with the stretches and warm-up forms, he felt more like himself than he had since this whole adventure had started. “Are you ready for some hand-to-hand?” he asked, turning to Rick.

"Yeah," Rick said as he straightened, settling into a defensive stance. He threw a challenging look at Ardeth before he centered his focus, trying to take into account every aspect of his surroundings and every nuance of his brother's posture.

The younger, lighter boy circled Rick for a few minutes, before darting in close to start a proper fight. He kept his attacks short, slipping away before Rick could grab him. If Rick could grab onto him, he would have the advantage, since he could then try to wrestle Ardeth to the floor and pin him.

Rick being taller had a very sturdy frame and, because of this, was not quite as quick and agile as his brother was. He also didn't have the benefit of years of training that Ardeth did. He blocked Ardeth's blows fairly well considering how recently he had begun Med-jai battle exercises. He stepped aside from his brother's blows whenever possible but waited for Ardeth to get in close enough before he would attempt to wrestle him to the ground. He knew it wouldn't be anytime soon so after a while he began to move from a defensive posture to an offensive posture occasionally throwing an attack his way but careful not to be impatient and drop his guard too much.

Once Rick was comfortable enough with the pattern of their spar to start attacking a little, Ardeth upped the pace. He knew it would wear himself out faster, but it was the best way to help Rick get used to the combat tactics.

Rick's blocks stopped most of Ardeth's attacks, but some got through. Only a few and glancing blows, and Rick recovered quickly from them, correcting his stance or dodging to the side. He grabbed Ardeth's arm firmly just above the wrist and trying to pull him close enough to put him into a headlock.

The smaller boy used the momentum of Rick's yank on his arm to help him sweep Rick's feet out from under him. The boys landed in a tangle of limbs, since Rick hadn't let go, and Ardeth brought up his free arm, resting his forearm lightly against Rick's throat.

Rick used his other hand to grab Ardeth arm trying to push it away from his throat.

"I think we are at stalemate." Ardeth said, panting a little. He pulled his arm away and started trying to figure out how to get them untangled from each other.

Once they were, Rick carefully rose to his feet and took a moment to get his breath back. Then he got back into a defensive stance, ready to go again.

Ardeth raised an eyebrow, but began circling again, favoring the arm that Rick had pulled a little. He didn't wait as long to begin his attacks this time, and started right in with some of the ones that Rick routinely had problems with.

Rick moved a little faster this time keeping up with Ardeth blow for blow for a little longer than usual before his attacks started making it past his defenses. But he rolled to the left kicking out at the back of Ardeth's knees when he rose to his feet again.

The attack caught Ardeth off guard and he fell, but rolled and popped back to his feet, instinctively kicking hard at the center of Rick's chest.

Rick was moving to dodge but didn't get out of the way fast enough. The blow caught him on the right side of his chest and spun him flinging him face-down onto the mat.

"Are you alright?" Ardeth asked, stepping forward, but staying just out of range in case Rick decided to grab for his legs.

He pushed himself quickly to his feet, knowing that in a real battle, the enemy would not give him the chance to come around from the blow. "I'm fine," Rick said nodding. His face was red and he looked a little winded, having been stunned by the blow. He was still seeing stars slightly from the wrenching motion of being whipped around like that, but he kept going as he waited for his vision to clear.

With a shrug, Ardeth closed in on Rick, using the older boy's disorientation against him. He twisted and spun around Rick, throwing punches but always careful to mostly pull the blows.

Finally giving up on trying to block the blows that he still couldn't quite see, Rick got low and lunged at Ardeth, trying to tackle him.

As Rick caught him around the waist and brought him crashing to the ground, Ardeth gave a surprised gasp. He lay still for a minute under Rick, trying to get his wind back and clear his vision. He had banged his head hard against the mat, and while the padding cushioned the blow, it was still enough to daze him.

Rick carefully placed his hands on his shoulders and used his weight to hold the boy down. Rick would have grabbed his arms as it would be a smarter way to make pin, but he would not run the risk of injuring Ardeth further.

Ardeth blinked up at Rick. "Well done," he offered, after a moment when he could think clearly again. "Are you going to let me up?"

"No," Rick joked. "I'm enjoying the moment." But he stood and stuck out his hand, helping Ardeth to his feet. "You okay?" he asked glancing at the bandage on Ardeth's arm to make sure he hadn't reopened the wound.

Ardeth caught his look and promptly tugged his sleeve over the bandage so that it was hidden. "I'm fine." Both boys turned when they heard movement, and found Teal'c there. He had their scimitars and had apparently been watching them for a while.

Teal'c stepped forward, a smile on his face as he handed them their scimitars. "Most impressive. You both have great skills."

Inclining his head, Ardeth accepted his scimitar and the compliment. "Thank you," he said, sighing relief at the comforting, familiar weight of his scimitar.

Rick in turn also thanked Teal'c and took his weapon. He was glad for the blade in his hand now because it would be easier to keep his hand from moving to massage the area of his chest were Ardeth's foot had landed. "So, who's first?"

"Stretches again, then we'll start with the review of basic forms. Let me know if your chest still pains you."

"It's nothing, it'll be fine." Rick assured him, as he went to do his stretches again. It hurt and he would probably have a small bruise, but not too bad.

Once both boys had done their stretches again, Ardeth turned to Rick. "Are you ready?" he asked, scimitar in hand.

“Yeah,” Rick said as he raised his blade, facing his brother.

The younger boy immediately started attacking, managing his attacks in such a way that he was taking Rick through all of the basic defense forms.

Rick went through the forms slowly following Ardeth's lead, mentally making sure he was holding the blade correctly.

Occasionally, Ardeth would slap the flat of the blade against Rick's legs, encouraging him to keep his footwork correct. "You're getting better, my friend," Ardeth told him, after they had finished the defensive forms Rick knew. "Now, start on the basic attacks."

Rick started in with the upward strokes and then followed up with the downward strokes, keeping his blade moving in a steady rhythm. He concentrated on the movements. It was harder for him to remember the correct method when he had been using his own for so long but it wasn't as difficult for him as it had been initially. It helped to watch Ardeth in his training sessions.

After the drills were done, Ardeth raised an eyebrow. "Are you up for a free duel?" he asked, shoving his sleeves up out of the way.

A smile lit Rick's face at the idea. "I am," he said as he bowed to his brother slightly. As he circled Ardeth, he was reminded for a moment of their first duel at the museum in Cairo. "And at least here we don't have to worry about breaking any of your uncle's artifacts."

"That's always a good thing. It's difficult to fully enjoy a spar when worried about possible death by lecture," Ardeth said gravely, and let Rick make the first move.

Rick stepped forward slashing down at Ardeth in a series of swings. The weight of the weapon was more comfortable in his hand than when he had first met Ardeth. So he twirled it in fluid arcs but holding the hilt in a strong grip now that he was finally getting used to the impact tremor.

Ardeth blocked each attack, starting with the basic blocks, but then adding a little something to them. With one slash, he met it head on, bracing his scimitar with his free hand on the flat of the blade, locking their blades.

Rick stepped back, pulling his scimitar back as he had to struggle to keep his grip on the hilt. He moved forward again stepping up his attacks a bit but careful not to revert back to his bad habits of holding the blade. He rolled off to the right and sprang to his feet raising his blade to block a blow from Ardeth then followed through to try an upward slash to dislodge the sword from Ardeth's hands.

Neatly twisting away from Rick's blade, Ardeth thwacked the flat of his blade onto Rick's exposed arm.

Rick chuckled nervously as he switched his sword to his left arm and placed his right arm behind his back. Since he was predominantly right handed, he had a feeling that this wasn't going to last much longer. He parried Ardeth's blows a few times before attempting an attack again, twirling the blade in his left hand.

Ardeth just looked at him in disbelief. "Rick, what have you been told about twirling the blade when you don't have a strong grip on it?"

"I've been practicing," Rick assured him. "Try me."

"Very well." Ardeth attacked Rick, keeping it simple, and waited to see what his friend would do.

Rick brought the blade down in a strong overhead swing down at Ardeth's blade. He in fact was trying to see if his work on this had paid off, For the past week and a half he had been intensively practicing using his left hand because of how weak he knew he was with that one, trying to increase its mobility.

A little surprised at the strength of the blow he blocked, Ardeth grinned at Rick. "Well done—you have been practicing."

Rick smiled for a second both slightly surprised and greatly relieved that it had worked. But he returned his focus back to the fight. He began to attack Ardeth with a little more caution not wanting to push his luck, trying to back Ardeth against the wall.

Ardeth picked up the pace of the attacks and blocks, testing out how proficient Rick was with his left hand. All Med-jai trained equally with both hands, but he hadn't started working with his brother on this yet.

Rick seemed able to block the blows for a good while but slowly his energy at the added effort of trying to keep in form and concentrating on the movements his left hand was performing in place of both was starting to wear him down slowly. His strokes were still strong but coming more slowly now as his energy began to drain.

Ardeth circled in closer, getting exhausted himself, but still keeping the pace strong. Finally, he saw an opening and snaked his blade through Rick's defenses to rest against his throat.

Rick froze for a second then sighed heavily. He could never get used to how startling it felt to have cold steel touching his throat. "I concede," he said with a tired smile, nodding at his brother.

"Have you been practicing with your left hand by yourself, or was someone helping you with your form?" Ardeth asked, sheathing his scimitar, and rolling up his sleeves as high as he could, completely forgetting about the bandages.

"Gen caught me practicing by myself one day last week and gave me some pointers," Rick admitted. "I didn't want to completely embarrass myself the first time I tried it with you."

Ardeth grinned at him. "You did very well. Since you've managed to get the basics down with your left arm, we'll start switching between arms for the practices."

Rick beamed at his brother's praise. His opinion meant a lot to Rick and he was pleased that his first attempt had worked out well. He sat down on the edge of the mat to catch his breath, glancing up at Teal'c.

Ardeth was stretching out next to him, looking very content. He glanced at Rick and raised an eyebrow. "Don't forget to stretch out soon. Otherwise you'll be very stiff soon."

Rick nodded and began his stretches. "One thing's for sure, we're going to sleep well tonight."

"And that's a very good thing. Would you care to go a round with me?" Ardeth asked Teal'c, once he was sufficiently rested.

"Indeed," Teal'c said bowing slightly to Ardeth. "If you prefer we can use the swords you are used to." Rick stood and offered his scimitar for Teal'c to use.

Teal'c accepted it with a grave bow, and stepped back a few paces to swing the sword around and get the feel for it. Ardeth smiled at Rick. "This will be fun."

Rick smiled back at his brother. He knew this would be a good challenge for Ardeth, to fight against a warrior that they had never encountered in battle before. He was glad though that he got to watch this time because he was exhausted. "Go get 'im," Rick said encouraging his brother as he clapped him on the back.

Teal'c after getting the feel for the foreign weapon in his hand. After watching Ardeth work with Rick, he knew the boy had the skill of an adult warrior. He respected that greatly in Ardeth and was looking forward to the challenge this would bring him. Even though he was young it was clear that Ardeth could teach even him a thing or two. He bowed in respect before taking up his Jaffa battle stance which he altered to be more appropriate for a scimitar instead of the staff weapon that he was used to.

Bowing back respectfully, Ardeth didn't hold back at all this time. He lunged forward, careful to keep most of his body behind the blade so that it would be harder for Teal'c to reach him.

Teal'c raised his blade to deflect Ardeth's blow as he stepped to the right. The boy had a great well of strength that shook the warrior's arm when their blades connected. He swung out at Ardeth's back from his new vantage point.

The boy blocked the blow, having to put his left hand on the blade to steady it, barely holding it back because of the strength Teal'c had. Stepping back, he broke the blade lock and immediately twisted in from the side, angling to score a hit on Teal'c's side.

Teal'c brought the scimitar around to catch the boy’s blade and then swung it out over his head bringing it down and around at Ardeth's legs.

Jumping over the swing, the boy twisted and brought his blade down towards the adult's arm, hoping to disable him a little.

Teal'c twisted away but no before the boy hit his shoulder with the flat of his blade. He nodded his congratulations to the boy as he put his right arm behind his back. He brought the sword out in his left arm swinging at the Ardeth but switching back in the opposite direction suddenly gently slapping his wrist.

The boy laughed and switched hands easily, launching into a series of short attacks to keep Teal'c occupied while he regained his breath.

Teal'c had to move quickly to block them since he did not have the added length of his usual weapon to give him the upper hand. After a moment he pressed with a couple attacks of his own that Bra'tac had taught him in his final level of training sweeping out at Ardeth's feet while he came at the other side with the scimitar, using his height and long reach to his advantage.

Ardeth lost his grip on his scimitar as he landed hard on his back. Winded, the boy lay still as Teal'c rested the scimitar blade at his throat. After a moment, he had enough air to croak out, "I concede."

Teal'c reached down to help Ardeth up. "You are truly a skilled warrior," he said with a genuine smile. "I have never had such a challenge from an opponent so young. Even a great many full warriors I have fought did not possess your extreme discipline."

"I thank you—you are the first who has beaten me so quickly in several years, and it is always nice to have a new challenge." Ardeth sheathed his scimitar, inclining his head to Teal'c again.

Teal'c bowed his head in gratitude. Rick came over, a huge smile on his face as he looked between his brother and Teal'c. "That was incredible!"

The young prince was grinning widely, and wiped the sweat off of his forehead with his sleeve. He was quite warm now, after the double workout. "You'll be able to do this soon, my brother."

Rick shook his head, not so sure that he'd ever be quite as good as Ardeth was, but his smile remained. Teal'c bowed to the two of them. "Now that we have completed our training sessions, I am heading for the mess hall for lunch. Would you two care to join me? Or would you prefer to rest first?"

Ardeth glanced down at himself, and winced. He was a sweaty mess. "I think it would be best if I cleaned up first, so I don't offend the entire base. Rick, do you want to clean up or go eat right away?"

"Let's go clean up first," Rick agreed. Teal'c nodded understandingly. "I thank you for the honor," he said to Ardeth. "Until next time." And he turned to leave. Rick looked over at his brother. "Good job!" Rick said still musing over the fight as they began to head to their room.

"That was an excellent fight. Teal'c is a very skilled warrior, and much more experienced than I am." Ardeth suddenly realized that the bandages were showing, so he quickly rolled his sleeves back down.

"Nice try," Rick said not even looking over at Ardeth as he spoke. “Your bandages were showing all during your fight with Teal'c."

"Curses! Well, as long as their healer doesn't find out about it, I should be fine." The boy shook his head, surprised he had been that careless.

By this time they had gotten back to their room and as the guards stepped aside to let them enter Rick asked them for another set of uniforms and referred them to Jack to find the smaller sizes. As he shut the door, he turned to Ardeth. "This may be a stupid question but why does seeing a healer bother you so much? I thought at first it was just because you thought if Amir found out, he would never let you live it down. But even when Amir's not involved you hate it."

Ardeth sighed and sat on the edge of his bed. "I don't like showing weakness at all. Also, have I told you about the Mummy's Curse?"

Rick tilted his head, searching his memory. Finally he shook his head. "No."

"If a mummy ever scratches you, it leaves behind pieces of itself in the cuts. And the only way to cure it is more terrible than can be imagined. In the mummy attack I survived last year, one of the men was scratched. As prince, it was my duty to stay with him while the healers tended to him." The boy shuddered, dropping his eyes. "I still have nightmares about it."

Rick's brow furrowed. He could see how deeply this memory grieved Ardeth and it tore him apart inside to see his brother in such pain. He moved closer to Ardeth and squeezed his shoulder. "I'm sorry, brother."

"It is a difficult memory, but it taught me the reason why the Med-jai stand so firmly by our duty. No one has survived the cure for the Mummy's Curse in almost a hundred years, since it requires great strength." The boy shook off the memories, and decided to tend to his arms. "So that is why I don't like going to healers."

Rick shuddered to think how close they came to facing that possibility back at the museum in Cairo. He jumped startled by the knock on the door when the guards came back with another set of fitting uniforms. He went to the door and took them from the guard, offering his thanks, and bringing the new clothes back into the room.

The young prince was quietly examining his arms. On his right arm, the wounds had split open again, and were bleeding sluggishly. His other arm wasn't bleeding, but quite sore.

Rick had to work not to make a face when he saw Ardeth's arm, the one that he had pulled during their hand-to-hand exercise with the cut reopened. Rick had been afraid of that after he had seen Ardeth favoring it slightly. He went to a cabinet and got a couple of cloths and some towels for Ardeth to use if he needed it. "Do you need me to help you with anything?" he offered.

"Could you get me a wet cloth so I can wash this up a bit?" Ardeth asked, wondering what he was going to use to bandage his arm now.

Rick went to the bathroom with the wash cloth and was certain to check the temperature of the water coming out of the faucet before he soaked them. He adjusted the handles to get it to a warm temperature and then brought them back to Ardeth. Then he began to tear one of the thinner towels into strips so he could use them for a bandage. Then he looked at Ardeth. "Is there anything else you need?”

"No, I don't think so. Thank you, Rick." Ardeth smiled gratefully at the older boy, and pressed the warm washcloth to his shoulder, wincing a little.

"Well, while your doing that I think I'm going to clean up," Rick said grabbing up one of the sets of clothing and headed to the bathroom. He knew that if he sat there and watched, his hovering over his shoulder would probably drive Ardeth nuts.

By the time Rick was all cleaned up, Ardeth had finished cleaning up his shoulder. The new bandages were still sitting neatly beside him on the bed, though, and he grinned at Rick. "I decided I wanted to get completely cleaned up before putting this on. I'll be back in a few minutes!"

Rick chuckled as he nodded. "Yeah it would be hard for soaking wet bandages to stay on your arm." He sat down on his bed and dried his hair catching his reflection in the glare on the TV screen, "Oh, man," he groaned in dismay as he realized his hair was getting poofy again. "Why can you just lie down and play dead," he muttered aloud as he tried in vain to pat it back down.

Ardeth snickered at that as he went into the bathroom. A few minutes later, feeling much better since he was now clean, the boy emerged wearing fresh clothing. "Let me get this bandage on, then we can go get some food."

"Sounds good to me," Rick said as he ducked into the bathroom to douse his uncooperative hair again. He came back out again and check to see if Ardeth needed any help with tying the bandage.

The boy was just finishing the knot, and he pulled his short sleeves down over the bandage. "All set?" he asked, laughing quietly when he saw Rick's wet hair.

"All set," he said with a grin purposefully giving his head a shake, splattering Ardeth with water.

Scowling at Rick, Ardeth wiped the water off of his face. "Come on, my brother. We'll discuss this more later."

"I have no doubt," Rick replied, a sly smile on his face. It was much easier to find their way back to the mess hall this time. When they got there they found Dr. Lee standing over a table and accusing Siler of stealing his glasses. Rick nearly died laughing, trying in vain to keep a straight face. Then he gave up and hid his expression instead by hurrying over to the buffet line.

Ardeth was employing all of his training in diplomacy to keep a straight face also. He followed Rick to the line, watching out of the corner of his eye. Almost the entire commissary was watching with great interest.

Rick listened to their shouts as he and Ardeth got their food and then hurried over to a quiet table sequestered off in the corner to watch the show.

The two boys ate in silence, watching as various people got involved. Some supported Siler, some blamed him. No one even looked at the two boys from the past.

Rick took a second to look at his brother. His eyes danced with an evil light and the expression on his face clearly said, “This is going even better than we had planned!” After a while the guards at the door had to come and separate the arguing scientist and technician. At that moment, General Hammond who had been passing the mess hall heard the commotion and walked in with a stern look on his face.

“What is going on here?” he demanded of his subordinates.

That sparked off a cacophony of noisy accusations from almost the entire room. Hammond looked around, and raised a hand. “Enough! One person at a time.” As Dr. Lee took a deep breath and began presenting his case to the general, Daniel poked his head into the door.

“Hey, is anyone missing their glasses? I found a pair on my desk, and they aren’t mine.”

Dr. Lee went quiet and turned to look at his glasses in Daniel's hand when he turned back to look at Siler, he was glaring at him angrily.

General Hammond looked pointedly at the scientist. "Dr. Lee, is there anything you want to say to Siler?"

Dr. Lee stammered a hasty apology and went over to claim his glasses from Dr. Jackson.

After another pointed glare from Hammond, everyone returned to their food or left. "The glasses didn't go as far as I thought. I expected them to be back to Dr. Lee by now." Ardeth murmured quietly.

"Same here," Rick said as he shook his head. "We're gonna have so much fun with Colonel O'Neill on this though." He snickered to think about how eager Jack seemed to contribute to their schemes. He had to work hard not to choke on his food he was laughing so hard.

"Yes, I think he's been looking for some accomplices. And who would ever expect us?" Ardeth patted Rick on the back as his brother choked a little.

Rick caught his breath again after a moment. "So far no one. and let's hope that luck holds." Then his face turned serious. "Hey I've been wondering, how do you think the red guards managed to get a hold of the Book of the Dead, and what were they going to use it for do you think? I take it from the way you reacted to Daniel finding it that it's nothing good."

"The Book of the Dead can be used to revive the Creature from its imprisonment at Hamunaptra. I don't know how they managed to get a copy of it—the only copy is buried in Hamunaptra, and you know how heavily we guard that site."

Rick's face darkened. "It's a good thing they forgot it at the museum then."

Ardeth nodded. "Yes. I'm surprised that they lost it, though—it must have been dropped in the mess you made when you tipped over the shelves in the library, and they couldn't find it again."

Rick laughed at the memory. "We should tell your uncle when we get back then," he joked, leaning back in his chair and interlacing his fingers behind his head. "My prank actually produced something good. I would never let Evelyn hear the end of it if I could tell her." He smiled wickedly at his brother.

The prince rolled his eyes. "Oh, I'm sure she would be thrilled to know that. Of course, that would be after the lecture you would get for reminding her about the event in the first place."

"Nuts,” Rick said sighing in disappointment. "So how much can we tell them now that we are certain that the secret is still safe?"

"About Hamunaptra?" Ardeth asked, finishing his food and leaning back in his chair.

"About the Med-jai in general. It almost seemed like Daniel had his heart set on becoming one when we were back at camp."

"I did notice that." The younger boy shook his head. "Almost everyone here has the heart of the Med-jai. But really, the only way for them to join the tribes is for me to contact the present king and alert him of this place. And I don't think they would allow that."

"No it doesn't seem so. It's ironic really. They're in almost the same exact position we are, only about a century later. I guess not much has changed, has it?"

"Human nature ever remains the same, no matter what changes are made in his surroundings." Ardeth stared around the nearly empty room for a few minutes, before sighing and turning away.

By now Rick had finished his food and picked up his brother's tray along with his own. "You ready?"

"I am. Let us go meet with the colonel, shall we?"

“Let’s!” Rick smiled at this, eager to begin scheming some more, as he rose and took care of their trays meeting Ardeth at the door of the mess hall.


	11. Chapter 11

The two boys eagerly went to meet Jack. For once, the man had made a list—a list of pranks to be played

Rick nearly died laughing when he noticed the same blank report sheet on his desk that he had yet to fill out and send to Senator Kinsey. He and Ardeth looked over the list with Jack plotting each person’s role in these pranks. Rick noted with amusement that most of the pranks were directed at Daniel and Jonas.

"How often do you prank Daniel and Jonas?" Ardeth asked, laughing quietly at the list.

Jack raised his eyebrows and assumed a wry smile. "I've lot count, but I'll tell you, it never gets old!"

Ardeth shook his head. "You are as bad as Rick is about moving Evelyn's books!"

"Hey! What's wrong with that?" Rick asked with mock-offense.

"Don't you think switching my cousins' clothing was more satisfying? At least they shriek, and don't hyperventilate while trying to fix everything."

"Are you kidding? Nothing quite matches watching Evelyn run back and forth frantically across the room over a couple of misplaced titles! Didn't you see her that day? She almost tipped the ladder over!"

"I also remember her reaction to your tipping over the bookcases. That was a mess to clean up!" Ardeth shook his head, remembering that scene quite well.

Rick grimaced. "Well yeah that wasn't fun. But I didn't do that to prank her. I was in fear for my life when she came storming up those stairs!"

At that, the younger boy snickered. "Yes, I remember that! Watching you cower behind my uncle's desk from a girl with no combat training and who is much smaller than you."

"Hey I was not cowering! And if I was it was for good reason. Evie may be small and have no training, but she has a grip that could rip a man's ears off his head! And a temper that might frighten even the creature!"

"Now there's a thought—unleash Evie on the Creature and see what happens!" Suddenly remembering that they were in Jack's office, Ardeth turned back to the man, smiling innocently.

Jack shook his head. "See, that's why Carter's not on the list. Besides the last time I tried swiping something out of her office, I got knocked out of phase, and it took me days to get back to normal."

"What do you mean? Knocked out of phase?" Ardeth asked, curiously.

"It's basically where no one can see or hear you and you can walk through walls. Pretty much, you're a ghost without dying." Jack sighed.

"Fascinating! How did you get back to normal?" Ardeth demanded eagerly.

"Carter brought me back. Once they finally figured out I was out of phase, she did some weird thing with the device I'd accidentally activated. Daniel forgot to warn me about that thing, and that's part of why he's top on the list."

The boy laughed. "Well, we will carry out the plans you have written up for us. It will be interesting to see how long it takes people to discover that it was us who did it."

"Nice!" Jack said with a huge smile. "Well, boys it has been excellent doing business with you. Drop by anytime! Oh and great job with the glasses! I'm going to make a copy of the security footage to keep for myself!"

Folding the paper and tucking it in his pocket, Ardeth stood. "Come, my brother. Let's go plan!"

Rick's laughter was evil as he and Ardeth walked out of the room. They quickly made their way to the room and as soon as they got inside, Rick cleared the books off the table and grabbed a couple of pieces of fruit for them to eat while they looked over the list. "So what does it say?" Rick asked as he pulled up a chair.

With a flourish, Ardeth pulled it out of his pocket and put it on the table between them. "One of us will have to keep Daniel distracted, and the other does the actual prank."

"Which job do you want?" he asked raising an eyebrow and scooting his chair a little closer so he didn't have to try and read the list upside-down.

"Well, I think I can distract him easily enough—all I have to do is start talking about the Med-jai."

Rick smiled, "True. He won't hear or see anything else while you're talking about that. What's Jack's first suggestion for him?"

"I like the suggestion he has about making an 'ancient text' for him to translate. I was thinking to do a description of the last feast we had?"

"Yeah, I remember that night." Rick shook his head. "Your cousins trying to get us to taste their food, and the rest of the women saving us from them," Rick rolled his eyes heavenward. "Bless them! So what are we going to add to it?"

"I'll mix in half a dozen languages, along with some hieroglyphics from the ancient books. I'll also describe the Museum of Antiquities."

Rick laughed to think of how long it would take Daniel to translate the jumble of languages. "He'll be so confused by the time he's done!"

Ardeth grinned. "I'm going to use every language I know." He promised, and started to work on the message.

"Should I go 'borrow' some of the papyrus from Dr. Jackson's office to write the message on?" Rick offered.

"Yes, please. I'll get the words figured out—make sure to grab a reed pen, too." Ardeth told him absently, switching languages and topics every few words.

Rick left the room and went to Dr. Jackson's library. Daniel looked up as the boy entered the room. "Hey, Rick. How's it going?"

"It's going good," he answered. "Ardeth and I were wondering if we could look through another one of your books to see if we can figure out how Sokar got to the ruins."

"Sure go ahead," Daniel replied waving Rick over to the book shelves. "Oh and let me know if you find anything."

Rick nodded. "We will." Oh, yeah, we sure will, he thought deviously. He moved over to pick up a book and with a subtle move of his hand had pocketed a reed and picked up a small roll of papyrus. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Daniel was once again absorbed in his research. He held the scroll carefully hidden on the other side of the book as he left the room. "Thank you Dr. Jackson," he called as he walked out the door.

Daniel just waved a hand, not looking up.

Back in their room, Ardeth had just finished up a draft of the document. He looked up, grinning, as Rick came in. "What do you think?"

Rick looked over the message, a wide grin spreading across his face. "Excellent! This is perfect and you won't believe it but he's actually set himself up for this."

"How so?" Ardeth asked, taking the reed pen and the papyrus eagerly. He began copying the prank-text down, using his best penmanship.

"I told him we were looking for a book to tell us how Sokar ended up in the ruins in the first place and he told me to let him know if we found anything."

"Oh, that's perfect!" Ardeth finished, and set the completed paper aside to dry. "We'll have to take this to him soon—maybe we found it inside the book?

"Brilliant!" Rick clapped Ardeth on the back. He handed Ardeth the book he had taken. "Here it is."

Rifling through the pages, Ardeth picked a spot and carefully slid their forged document into it. "Let's give it a few hours, then we'll go and show him."

"Alright," Rick said. "So what should we do until then?"

"I don't know—definitely not more sparring for a while. I'm still tired from this morning!"

"I believe it. You went all out with Teal'c in that match. And he wasn't holding back on you either! That was awesome!"

"I need to learn more about his weapon of preference. Maybe I can watch him spar with it sometime, and then maybe we could try a duel with those." Ardeth murmured, stretching his arms carefully.

Rick's eyes lit up as he thought about Ardeth's suggestion. He had been awestruck from what he had seen of it in action back in Egypt. "That would be incredible!" he mused breathless as he leaned back in his chair. Then he turned to Ardeth curious. "But do you think they'd let us use it since it is a weapon from the future?"

"Well, I'm certain they won't allow us to take one back with us, but to train with one? I don't see why that would be a problem."

Rick smiled. “Let’s ask Teal’c about it then. He respects you a lot. I’m sure he’d be glad to train you how to use one. But you are right, no more training today. We could talk to Sam to see how she’s progressing on finding a way to send us home, but if Daniel walks in to talk to Sam about anything he’ll know we weren’t looking for information on Sokar.”

"We could always continue your history lessons about the Med-jai,” Ardeth suggested as he moved the book to the center of the table so that it wouldn’t get bumped around at all.

"Sounds good to me," Rick said as he leaned forward crossing his arms and resting on the table. The idea of history he had found recently was not as painful as it used to be, at least not now that he had a home and wasn't as plagued by the thought of his parents' death. He still missed them greatly, but it wasn't as difficult to bear now that he no longer had to bear it alone. He had to admit that he found the Med-jai almost as intriguing as Daniel did and always listened to his brother's tales intently.

Ardeth stood and began pacing the room, retelling the stories to Rick exactly as he had learned them. While the Med-jai did use books to record their history, they also kept the oral traditions alive, passing on the knowledge from parent to child.

Rick listened, fascinated by the stories about the pharaohs, the legacies of the Med-jai, the many sacred places they protected, and especially of the sacred magic they employed to keep the threat of these great evils at bay.

Loud voices echoing through the briefing room caught Jack's attention. He had finally finished his report, and was returning it to General Hammond, only he found that the general had several people already in his office. Several very unwelcome people.

Jack groaned as he recognized one of the head agents from the NID. He wished Agent Barret were here. He didn't fully trust the man, but he trusted him more than the rest of his department.

"Maybe I'm not making myself clear, General Hammond," the leader said. "These boys knew the location of a goa'uld system lord. If they knew where one was, they're going to know where more are. And they've both already refused to give you information about their people or their affiliations. They may very well be in league with the goa'uld. And we will take them in to our custody for questioning. We need to know what they know!"

Deciding that he better interfere, Jack knocked on the door and poked his head in. "Is this a bad time, sir?" he asked the general, watching the agent out of the corner of his eye.

"No, Colonel, it's not." He fixed the NID agent with an angry glare. "These gentlemen were just leaving,"

The NID agent straightened and returned the glare. "You haven't heard the last of this. The President will be in contact with you by the end of the day." With that last warning he turned and led his men out the door. Once the door closed, Hammond sighed heavily lowering himself into his chair.

"They want to get their hands on the boys, don't they?" Jack asked, placing his report on the edge of Hammond's desk.

"How'd you guess?" the general scoffed rubbing his eyes. Then he looked up at Jack, and the colonel could see the fatigue in his expression. "They think that Rick and Ardeth are holding back vital information on possible goa'uld targets. He says we haven't been diligent enough in getting answers out of them."

"They are just boys, sir. I don't think either of them is older than sixteen. And they didn't know what the goa’uld was—they just called it 'the creature'." Jack paused, starting to reach for one of the paperweights on the general's desk to play with, then caught himself and straightened. "From what I can tell, sir, they had the goa’uld trapped in a sarcophagus, and the only reason it got out was because the stargate disturbed the seal on it. They had an entire tribe of warriors there to keep the snakehead from escaping."

"I tried to explain that to them. But they believe they would be more inclined to tell us what they're convinced the boys are hiding if they were to start bringing pressure to bear." General Hammond rubbed a hand over his forehead again. "I need to talk to the president about this. I doubt he'll authorize it once he hears that they are just children. Are they causing any problems?"

"No, sir," Jack replied. "They always ask before they do anything. They know we have protocols to follow here. Though from the time we spent in their camp, it seems to me like it's not that much different there and then than it is here. Only our positions have been reversed. And General," Jack said as he leaned his weight on Hammond's desk, "they went to great lengths to protect us when they felt we were in danger. We can't let the NID get their hands on them."

"I will do my best, colonel. For now, warn the rest of your team to work to keep the boys away from any visitors we might have on the base—we don't want the NID to get impatient and snatch the boys."

Jack nodded. Both he and the general knew that the NID hardly ever waited for authorization and never took "no" for an answer. "I'm on it, General," he said nodding as he left to find Daniel.

When Jack got near Daniel's office, he could hear the man's voice raised, sounding very eager. Once at the door, he found the archaeologist pouring over a papyrus, while Ardeth and Rick watched, both boys struggling to keep straight faces.

"Hey, Daniel, what you got there?" he said hardly daring to believe his luck. He walked into Daniel's office feigning ignorance. The boys looked up at him impassively but he could tell by the glimmer in their eyes that the plan was already hard at work.

"This—this is absolutely incredible! Look at this! It's some sort of code—the boys found it in one of the books I haven't gone through yet. I think there’re some Ancient symbols in here!" Daniel bubbled out, obviously thrilled.

"That's great," Jack said, making his usual face of total indifference. He knew that if Daniel thought that he was actually interested in something he discovered, he would know something was up. "Uh, listen, before you bury yourself alive with notes on this find, I need to talk to you about something."

"Not now, Jack—this is an incredible discovery!" Daniel pleaded, not looking up from where he was scribbling down frantic notes.

"This is important," Jack insisted. "We had a little visit today from our friends at the NID."

That caught Daniel's attention. "What did they want?" He asked, looking annoyed.

“Take a wild guess,” Jack said, shoving his hands into his pockets.

Daniel glanced over at Rick and Ardeth—the two boys had respectfully moved away so that the adults could have a semi-private conversation. They were quietly discussing the one of the artifacts on his shelves. "They want our guests?"

“Uh-huh," Jack replied quietly as he stepped closer to Daniel. “They think that they're holding out on us with information regarding the system lords. As I walked into General Hammond’s office, I heard the NID guy saying that he and his "organization" think that they're actually in cahoots with the goa'uld." O'Neill sighed heavily and leaned in and spoke in a low tone so that only Daniel would hear. "The NID want to take them in for questioning."

"What did General Hammond say about it?" Daniel asked, watching as Ardeth started translating some glyphs on a tablet written in Ancient Egyptian for Rick.

"What either one of us would tell those number-crunching psychopaths: to go take a flying leap," Jack said grinning slightly with satisfaction. "He also told me that he doesn't think there going to wait around for the President to okay their request for authorization. So he's asked that you, me, Teal'c, Jonas, and Carter keep a close eye on the boys and keep them away from any visitors to the base."

"All right. In that case, one of us should escort them everywhere, and if need be, we can play hide and seek with the NID for a few hours."

"We're going to have to break the days down into shifts," Jack agreed nodding. I need to go talk to Jonas, Carter and Teal'c and then in a couple of hours we can meet to discuss who can watch them when. Can you take them until then? I figure they can help you work on the translation this way."

"Yes, that will work out quite well. Let me know when you want us all to meet." Daniel turned back to the papyrus.

Jack smiled and walked over to the boys. "So before I go look for T, I wanted to ask you guys to stay here with Daniel and watch his reaction to the translation. Let me know everything!" he whispered with a sly smile.

Both boys nodded eagerly. "Of course, sir." Ardeth promised, trying very hard not to laugh or smile.

"He'll bring you back to your room after he's done. I'll come by a while afterwards with some more pizza and you can tell me everything about it." Jack sighed. "Well, I gotta go look up the rest of the gang, so have fun gentlemen." He walked out the door, hoping that Daniel wouldn't be so absorbed in his notes to remember to keep the boys with him; though hopefully his ploy would help if that were the case. He knew Daniel would never endanger Rick's and Ardeth's lives, but somehow nothing else seemed to exist to Dr. Jackson once he was engrossed in a translation.

Daniel was completely focused on the translation again, and Ardeth grinned over at Rick. "This will be very good," he whispered.

"Oh, yeah," Rick mused, resisting the urge to constantly glance back over his shoulder and draw the archaeologist's attention. But after a while it was pretty clear that Imhotep could attack and he probably wouldn’t bat an eye. Rick picked up an object a small metal Egyptian trinket box. "Hey this is kind of like that thing I found in my pocket on the way to Kiriyah Gan, only the markings were different."

Ardeth glanced at it, and frowned a little when he read the inscriptions. "Interesting—try to press that glyph right there."

Rick found the symbol he was pointing to. As he pressed down on it, the top opened, the hinges pulling the interlocking triangular cuts on the top outward. The rays splayed out in an odd pattern very similar to Rick's box as well. "Neat."

"It's a key to something. I'm not sure what it's for," Ardeth murmured, staring at it curiously.

"A key?" Rick repeated uncertain. All the keys he was used to seeing were that traditional kind used for locking doors, but he'd never seen a lock for a key like this. Then he began to wonder if the box he had was also a key of some sort.

Ardeth nodded. "Yes. From the sketches in the ancient books, the key they used to lock the Creature's sarcophagus was very similar to this one."

"Really?" Rick said grimacing. "I might have something to show you when we get home then."

"Oh, look at that book! I heard Father mention it was one of the missing tomes of our history!"

Rick craned his neck to see what was inside. It was also written in the Med-jai code. "We could read what's inside and tell your dad when we get back. And we may want to check it out before Dr. Jackson gets a hold of it."

"That works for me." Ardeth took the book down and started reading it, doing his best to memorize it.

A couple of hours later Rick and Ardeth were still deep into the tome Ardeth had found when Dr. Jackson started flipping back and forth through his notes, a look of confusion on his face. Rick looked up and had to immediately look down again to keep from laughing at Daniel as he flipped the page over to see if there was any more written on the back. Finding nothing more he got up and headed over to the bookshelves near where the book Rick had taken had come from. “Did you find something, Dr. Jackson?” Rick asked in a curious tone.

“Well, the text seems to be incomplete. It’s talking about a great banquet of sorts and then it speaks of a library, I’m thinking one where Sokar kept all his records and information about himself and or other system lords. But then it just leaves off. So I think the text might consist of more than one page. If that’s the case, then the other page or pages might be in another one of these books.” He began pulling books off the shelf and flipping through the pages for any other loose sheets of papyrus, paying no attention to the boys.

A smile tugged at the corners of Rick’s mouth. This would be the perfect opportunity to plant more “ancient texts’. He looked at Ardeth, winked, and then turned back to Daniel. “You know, until we find a way back home we could help you look through your collection if you want,” he offered catching his brother’s eye.

Ardeth was trying very hard to look serious. "Yes, we would be delighted to help in this area."

"Yeah, if you guys want to help, that would be great," Daniel said. Why don't you two look over theses shelves over there and I'll take this shelf here."

As the boys got over to the bookshelves, the phone rang. As Daniel picked it up Rick was carefully slipping parchment into the pages of one of the books.

"So, you told all the others?" Daniel's conversation over the phone drifted to them in intervals. "Right.... Okay, Jack, I'll meet you guys in the briefing room in a few minutes I just gotta see the boys back to their room..... Okay, bye." He turned to the boys. "Listen guys, I have a meeting with Jack and the rest of my team so I'm gonna take you back to your room, alright?"

"We'll take these books with us, and look through them," Ardeth told him, picking up a stack that Rick had stuck them in.

"Sure, that’ll help me out a lot." Rick and Ardeth both piled arms full of books and Daniel escorted them back to their room.


	12. Chapter 12

Once they were inside and had closed the door, Rick piled the books on the table, finally allowing himself to laugh now that they were alone. "Did you see the look on his face as he finished that translation?"

"Yes! That was perfect. Now I need to remember where I left off." Ardeth murmured, and picked out another piece of papyrus and started working on another piece of the text.

"So what shall we write about this time?" Rick asked as he moved over to his bed. Their clothes had come back cleaned and were folded neatly on each of their beds. Rick was glad to have his familiar clothes back. He decided to save them for tomorrow since the day was almost over already anyways. As he turned back to work with Ardeth again though, he noticed the digital clock on his nightstand. He paused for a second. I could have sworn that had been on Ardeth’s nightstand, he thought looking at it curiously. After a moment he shrugged and pulled a chair up to the table and settled in to help his brother work on another ‘sacred writing’.

“Let’s do a description of one of the horse races, and a transcript of one of our diplomacy lessons,” suggested the young prince, grinning.

"Excellent," Rick grinned. He watched as Ardeth wrote out the details of the transcript before translating them. After a while though, his mind wandering back to the tome Ardeth had found. "So did the Med-jai book mention anything about Hamunaptra or any of the sacred sites that we wouldn't want them to learn about?"

"Only in the vaguest terms. I doubt even these people would be able to figure it out. I still have a ways to go, but so far, I don't think there will be any problems with him keeping the book."

Rick nodded, glad for that. "With all the discoveries we'd made in his library, I was half-afraid that we would have to come up with a way to confiscate his entire library from him."

"Yes, that would be unfortunate. He has some amazing things in his office," Ardeth murmured, and studied his efforts in the transcript. "I think this is good."

A short while later, there was a knock on the door. Rick walked over to get it, and Jack stepped in with their pizza. Rick rubbed his hands together eagerly. All their plotting had given him quite an appetite. "Thanks for the pizza, Colonel."

"Anytime boys," he said with a smile. He set the pizza boxes down on the table and began serving them their plates. Once he was finished he leaned back with his own plate in his hands and raised his eyebrows mischievously. "Now tell me everything!"

Ardeth glanced over at Rick. "Go for it, my brother!" He said, going over to their stack of books to show Jack part two of the prank.

Rick started off into his animated tale about how excited Daniel had been about the translation, telling Jack about what was in the actual writing and Daniel's confusion we he had reached a sudden end, and how they planned to draw out the prank for as long as they could get away with it. O'Neill's eye held an evil light as he examined their latest addition to "Sokar's writings".

"Ah," he sighed with satisfaction, "The gift that keeps on giving. This is great!"

Ardeth presented Jack with the next 'ancient text'. "This one is about a horse race, and a diplomacy lesson. What exactly is going on?"

"What do you mean?" Jack asked, doing a flawless job feigning ignorance. But Ardeth knew that something was up.

Tilting his head and staring at Jack in his best imitation of his father, the young Med-jai refused to be deterred. "Why have you decided that Rick and I need to be escorted everywhere by more than just the two guards?"

Jack pursed his lips as he met Ardeth's gaze for a long moment before releasing a heavy sigh and leaning back in his chair wearily. “You remember when I was telling you about Kinsey the other day?" Ardeth nodded. "Well, he isn't the only weasel we have to watch out for. A group called the NID have come by insisting that we release you into their custody."

"I take it they are as undesirable as this Kinsey?" Ardeth asked, settling back down on the edge of his bed.

"You've got it," Jack said nodding. "These guys run a lot of illegal operations. Now we have authorization to keep you guys and we doubt they’re going to attain permission from the right channels change that. But in our past dealings with this agency, we have learned that it isn't beneath them to do what they want to anyways to get their hands on what or who they want regardless of the risks or consequences. So General Hammond believes that we should keep you both away from any visitors on the base. I agree with him. The NID has a long arm, and I'm not about to let you guys get snatched by these jerks," he explained, not even attempting to disguise his contempt for the NID.

Ardeth exchanged a glance with Rick. "Very well. We don't really want to be snatched, so we'll do our best to make certain we stay with your or one of your team."

Rick scoffed ruefully at Ardeth's initial statement. "Yeah I think we've been kidnapped enough for the next couple of decades."

Jack nodded at the boys appreciatively. "I know you guys are probably going stir crazy in here. I know how you feel, but we are not going to rest until we find a way to get you home. Until then my team is going to take turns hanging out with you guys. Teal'c volunteered for morning training sessions. Jonas will stay with you in the mornings until you train since he's a morning person. Daniel will stay with you in the early afternoons. Carter will take you until dinner time and I'll keep an eye on you guys after that until I leave to go home for the day."

"I think we're going to be busy," the boy murmured, with a slightly rueful smile. "But this will give us many opportunities to carry out our plans."

Jack smiled, all for it. "Well, if you're going to be under protective custody, you might as well enjoy it. And if you need anything you can let one of us know and we'll help you out."

"Any chance of getting some fresh air?"

"We did talk to the General about it. He was very hesitant to allow it especially since the little visit from the goon squad this afternoon, but he's allowed it, as long as you are under full guard of at least two SG teams." Jack replied.

Rick thought it was worth it to see the sky again even if only for a little while.

"Tomorrow sometime, then?" Ardeth asked eagerly—he had never been trapped inside for this long before. Even when he and Rick had been prisoners of the temple guards, they weren't trapped inside underground buildings.

"Sure," Jack said. "Jonas can take you guys up tomorrow morning if you want along with SG-2 and SG-9." He offered. Rick couldn't contain his whoop of delight.

Ardeth laughed, and grinned at the man. "That would be most appreciated."

"If we had the chance I would invite you guys to come out to my place in Minnesota for some fishing," Jack mused. "Now that's a vacation. Relaxing, no goa'uld, just us, the fish in the pond, and the great open sky."

"Fishing will be a good topic for one of the papyri," Ardeth murmured, grabbing a piece of paper and scribbling down a note.

Rick laughed and shook his head. "Man, by the time Dr. Jackson figures this out, he's going to be glad to get rid of us."

Jack chuckled wickedly. "That'll teach him to wake me at four in the morning with his 'breakthroughs'."

Ardeth shook his head. "I'm throwing in as many languages as I know, with as many different glyphs from the various sacred areas that we don't really use. Those seem to really excite him."

"Yeah, I'll bet,” Jack said shaking his head. "You should see him when he finds Ancient runes. Sometimes he looks like he's about to hyperventilate, he gets so excited."

Rick looked at him confused. "But these are ancient runes, well, hieroglyphics really."

"Oh, no," Jack explained. "In our travels we've learned about a race called 'the Ancients'. Daniel's obsessed with them. That obsession almost got him killed when he was so engrossed in a translation that he barely got to the stargate to come back home before the storms on that planet washed the gate into the ocean."

"I can see that," Ardeth murmured, remembering the man's obsession.

"Maybe you can explain to him what a necessary risk is then," Jack groaned.

Ardeth shrugged. "I can try, but somehow I doubt he'll listen to me. After all, I'm sure you've tried to explain it many times."

"Yeah but he listens to you because he wants to join your club," Jack laughed.

At that, the boy laughed. "Until I am king, I don't have that authority. I can recommend people, and I did take a few liberties and revoked the traitor's rights as a Med-jai, but really, I'm not supposed to do any of that."

"He's still thrilled at discovering a remote new race on earth especially in Egypt. By the end of the meeting, it was all he and Jonas were talking about. You two are the new celebrities at Stargate Command."

"A celebrity? This could be interesting." Ardeth murmured, hiding a yawn, then wincing as he accidentally bumped the injuries on his arm.

Rick took note of his pain and decided to ask him once Jack left, since he knew Ardeth wouldn't want to see the healer. "Yeah, we don't usually find a warm welcome outside our own people."

Jack sighed. "Well, I should get going. Is there anything else I can get you guys before I go?"

"Could I get some medicine and bandages for a minor cut? I must have gotten myself a little during training this morning," Rick lied.

"Is it serious?" Jack asked looking at him concerned.

"No, I can take care off it. I just need the supplies."

Jack nodded and asked the guards for a first aid kit. Within moments, they had brought one back, and Jack handed it off to Rick. "Thank you," Rick said, taking the red box in hand.

"Is there anything else you need?" Jack offered.

Ardeth glanced at Rick, raising an eyebrow at the first aid kit. "I think we'll be fine for the night. Thank you, colonel."

"No problem," Jack said as he rested his hand on the door handle. "Good night. See you tomorrow for the prank update." He walked out the door.

"Where are you hurt?" Ardeth asked Rick, as soon as the door was closed.

Rick turned and looked at his brother. "I'm not. But you are. I thought this would be good to have in case your arms needed mending, and you didn't want to see their healer." He could still see the haunted look in Ardeth's eyes from earlier that day when he had told Rick why he didn't like being treated by healers.

Ardeth paused, and considered that for a moment, then nodded. "Thank you, my brother. That is very wise."

Rick smiled lightly at the compliment. "Thanks. Are your arms doing alright?" he asked his face becoming a little more serious.

"They're a little sore. Especially the one that I reopened this morning." Ardeth told him, slipping off his shirt and examining the make-shift bandages Rick had provided for him.

Rick saw the blood that had soaked into the bandage on his right arm. It was also slightly yellow. Rick went to the cabinet and grabbed a couple of washcloths. After wetting them down in the bathroom he came back over to Ardeth. Since the blood had dried, he was going to have to be careful about taking the bandage off without causing further damage to the wound. He placed the warm wet cloth over the bandage after untying it to soak it off. Once the bandages came loose, he peeled them away carefully, checking to make sure there was no part still attached to the raw skin as he went. The wound was weeping slightly with infection. "I need to clean this out."

The younger boy sighed. "Very well. Thank you, Rick," He turned his head away and made certain that Rick had clear access to the injury.

Rick nodded. "Come with me." He led Ardeth into the bathroom bringing the washcloths and the first aid kit with him. "At least now we don't have to worry about how much water we use, he thought grimly. He rifled through the first aid box. It was a little difficult at first since apparently in the last hundred years people had gone to the trouble of renaming everything. But finally he found a gel soap to clean the wound with, and an ointment to use after. He held Ardeth's arm over the sink and with gentle movements began to wash away the infection in his arm, careful to be as thorough as possible and still put as little pressure on the inflamed flesh as he could.

"At least we have much more to work with now than when we were with the temple guards," Ardeth murmured, keeping his face impassive.

"Yeah, and our hosts have given us active entertainment so we're not bored out of our minds," Rick said with a smile as he finished cleaning the cut. He began to spread the ointment on the wound trying to put as much on as possible so it would soak down into the cut. The unas' claws had dug deep into his arms. Rick kept his smile in place though he hurt inside to know that Ardeth had suffered this for him. "And just think tomorrow, we get our first glimpse of Colorado. I've never seen Colorado. I wonder what it's like."

The younger boy smiled. "From what I've heard, it has mountains. Lots of mountains. It will be wonderful to be outside again."

"Yes, it will," Rick said taking comfort in seeing his brother's smile. He looked at the gauze packet uncertainly, raising his eyebrow at the thin net-mesh material. "They call this a bandage?" Rick wondered out loud until he saw the directions on the other side of the package. Shrugging, he put the cotton padding over the cut itself and began to wrap the gauze around it. He was fascinated with the way the thin strips seemed to cling to each other. And then checking the directions again, he placed the tape at the end to secure it. "Done with this arm. Man, things sure have changed in the past century. How does that feel?" he asked, not sure if he had applied the bandage right.

"It's fine—I think that medicine has some sort of painkiller in it." Ardeth told him, glancing at his other arm. That one was fine.

"Good." Rick began cleaning away all the empty wrappers of the medical supplies he had used and placed the packets he had not used back in the first aid kit. He brought the kit with him as he walked into the bedroom and shoved it under his bed in case they needed it again.

Following him back into the bedroom, Ardeth settled on his own bed. "I wonder how they get these sheets to be so stiff and scratchy,"

"I'm not sure," Rick said as he looked at the sheets. But he had to admit to himself that the sheets at the orphanage had been worse. Father Duncan had always regretted that but he lacked the sufficient funds to buy enough softer bed sheets for the children to sleep on. The first night Rick had spent in the royal palace at Kiriyah Gan had taken some getting used to, but he definitely enjoyed the difference. He guessed he hadn't noticed how scratchy the sheets were here because he was still kind of used to the quality he had in Cairo.

"I almost prefer the sand with a blanket. But at least here, you don't have to worry about any poisonous creatures."

“Yeah, no asps in Stargate Command,” Rick smiled as he pulled his boots off and settled down onto his bed. “Or scorpions, or spiders, or scarabs—” Rick shuddered as he remembered the close run-in that had brought them here. “Wait—” he murmured as he got up again and walked over to the cabinet where the towels and washcloths were kept. He found a couple of sets of linens and extra blankets inside. “I thought so.” He ran his hand over the linens but these sheets were just as rough as their current sets were. Rolling his eyes, he pulled out the extra blankets. “One way or another…” He handed one to Ardeth and then lay down on top of the comforter and pulled the blanket over himself.

The younger boy grinned, and followed suit. It didn’t take long for either boy to fall asleep. The next morning, Ardeth was awake well before Rick, and he spent his time wandering around the room before snagging the bathroom to clean up and get into his normal clothing.

Rick was lost in dreams again, the same one as before: traveling home with SG-1 in this strange ship. But he woke to the sound of an alarm and a voice over the PA system in the hallway.

"Unscheduled off-world activation," it blared.

At the rude awakening, Rick rolled over trying to rise to his feet. But in his drowsiness, he forgot that he was in a bed and not on a sleeping mat on the sand, and so rolled right off the bed and onto the floor.

"Rick? Are you all right?" Ardeth asked—he had come out of the bathroom after hearing the klaxon just in time to see his brother fall.

"Yeah," he groaned as he rose to his feet reaching for a weapon only to remember that his guns and scimitar were in the armory. "What is that?" he said casting about for the source of the foreign noise.

"I don't know. Let's find out, shall we?" The boy went to the door and opened it a crack. Both guards were still there, although they were clearly anxious, and were gripping their weapons tightly. "What is going on?"

"Someone's coming through the stargate," the guard replied having been told by Col. O'Neill that they had clearance for this information.

"Is that a good thing?" Rick asked tentatively.

"We don't know for sure," the other guard said. "If it's an enemy we'll know when we hear weapons fire coming from the gate room. SG-1 might be able to tell you specifically who it was later."

"Right. Well, I guess we'll wait here, until someone comes to take us to breakfast. Thank you for the information," Ardeth told the man, sighing.

They walked back into the room closing the door behind them. Rick winced massaging his right temple which had caught the corner of the nightstand as he had fallen out of bed. “Well, at least it's not the Creature," he said sitting down at the table for a second.

"This is true," Ardeth frowned when he saw Rick's movement. "Let me see your head."

Rick tilted his head so that the light shone on the area that he had struck the bedside table. "How does it look?"

Studying it carefully, the younger boy shook his head. "You'll be fine—just a bruise. Don't touch it."

"Not a problem," Rick chuckled ruefully thoroughly embarrassed with himself. He caught his brother’s wrist. "Please don't tell anyone how I got this."

"Everyone will assume that you got it during one of our training sessions." The prince pointed out, straightening his robes.

"True," Rick said nodding, but he stopped in the middle of the action deciding it would probably be best not to do that again until the pulsing sensation went down. He got up and picked up his clothes, a towel, and a washcloth. "Are you done with the washroom?"

"Yes. Put a cold cloth on your bruise—it will keep the swelling down, and help with your headache."

"I will. Thanks," Rick replied as he stepped into the bathroom to clean up. By the time he emerged Jonas was there visiting with Ardeth.

Ardeth was very relieved to see Rick. Jonas was asking about every possible subject, and he was very good at getting answers.

"Hey Jonas," Rick greeted him as he patted down his hair, praying that this time it would stay flat. "How you doing?"

The man smiled brightly at Rick. "I'm doing well. How are you this morning?" he asked, rocking back on his heels from his place beside the door.

Rick almost laughed at the question, but caught himself in time not wanting to explain how he woke up. "Better now that I've showered. So what happened earlier with the Stargate?"

The man's grin widened, if possible. Ardeth wondered absently if the Kelownan aged differently on his planet than people on earth did. He looked like a normal man in his twenties, but he acted like a teenager.

"That was a visit from some of our allies. I'm not certain how much I'm allowed to tell you, though."

"Fair enough," Rick said shrugging. "It's just good to know the base isn't being invaded or something." He tossed the towel onto a chair and moved over to join them. "You guys ready for some breakfast? 'Cause I sure am," he said looking between Ardeth and Jonas.

For answer, Ardeth stood. Jonas promptly opened the door, and led them to the commissary. He was chatting away about all sorts of things—mainly the weather.

Rick was interested in what he had to say about the weather mainly because today they were finally going to get to see it. "So it's really cold outside?" Rick asked. It had been so long since he had been to America. He had been an infant when his parents had come to Cairo, so as far as he could remember, he had never experienced winter in a temperate climate. He wondered how Ardeth would adapt to the change.

"Oh, it's quite cold out there today. Actually, the colonel said that it's snowing a little."

Ardeth's eyes were wide. "This will be a new experience."

Rick nodded, also surprised. He remembered his mother talking fondly of snow, how she and her friends used to play in it, and how she missed it every once in a while. Though even with her descriptions, he had a difficult time picturing it in his head. Once they reached the commissary they gathered up a hearty breakfast.

"This food is good. Not poisonous, and while it isn't as good as Uncle Terrence's cooking, there is plenty of it," Ardeth commented, as he cleaned his tray.

Rick could only mumble his agreement around a mouthful of food. Once he swallowed, he looked at Jonas. "So, what's your home like?"

At that, the young man's smile grew sad. "Kelowna is a beautiful place. There are a great many plains, mountains, and lakes. It is very similar to Earth, from what I've seen on the television set and when I'm allowed to go off-base."

Rick saw the sorrow in Jonas' expression and fell silent. It sounded like a beautiful world but for some reason the idea of his home seemed to bring him a great deal of pain. "It sounds beautiful," Rick murmured, hesitant to question him further.

Jonas nodded, and after another moment of contemplative silence, he launched into a description of the wonders of food on the base.

Once they had finished eating breakfast Rick stood eagerly ready to go outside. Jonas took them to a supply room first, one they used to store equipment for harsh environments, to get the three of them some heavy coats, gloves, and snow boots to protect them from the cold. Then meeting up with SG-2 and SG-9 at the entrance, Jonas took the two of them out of the base to the area immediately in front of the cave leading into the mountain.

Stepping out into the white world, Ardeth stared around in wonder. He turned his face up to the sky, blinking as snowflakes floated down to rest on his upturned face. "It's amazing," he whispered—every sound was muffled.

"Whoa," Rick breathed awestruck by how the white flakes drifted silently down onto the ground. He looked down at the snow beneath his feet and it made an odd crunching sound under his boots. Stooping, he took off one of the gloves that Jonas had given to them and he picked some up with his hand. He was surprised at the cold sensation. Then, he looked out at the snow-covered forest and sighed heavily. "Mom, I wish you were here to see this," he whispered.

Ardeth came up behind him, and rested a hand on his shoulder, standing there quietly. The younger boy was already looking much better—the fresh air definitely helped him.

Rick rested a hand over Ardeth's in gratitude. He rose to his feet and turned around to look at the snow covered mountain. "It's pretty impressive isn't it?" he asked Ardeth as he pointed at the Cheyenne’s white slopes.

"It is. I never expected to see snow," Ardeth admitted, sliding off his own glove and smiling as the flakes floated down to land on his skin, where they melted.

Rick hid a wicked smile as he took what little snow he held in his hand and packed it together quietly. That, he remembered, was one of his mom's favorite pastimes when it snowed: snowball fights. He tossed the snow at his brother.

Sensing the movement behind his back, the young Med-jai dropped and rolled instinctively, grabbing for his missing scimitar as he came up. Turning, he glared at Rick. His black hair was covered with snow.

"Nuts!" Rick smiled giving his brother his best innocent face. "I just want you to get the full experience."

Ardeth's glare didn't waver as some of the snow melted off of his hair and dripped into his eyes. The two SG teams were watching, obviously amused. Slowly, the prince stalked forward, obviously intent on doing something to Rick.

Rick started taking paces backwards matching Ardeth step for step, never taking his eyes off of his brother. He was having a hard time containing his laughter as he retreated under Ardeth's advance. "Hey, it's not my fault you rolled," he chuckled, putting his hands up defensively.

Ardeth's hand came flying up, and the handful of snow he had snatched when he rolled broke apart over Rick's face.

Rick quickly knelt and started picking up snow and quickly chucking it at Ardeth as he moved evasively. Rick had a pretty good aim and managed to hit the prince twice before turning to dive for cover to avoid return fire.

The adults watched the snowball fight with great amusement, now and then having to dodge snowballs that went astray. It was almost an hour later before Ardeth managed to get close enough to tackle Rick.

Rick gasped in surprise as Ardeth fell on top of him he tried to squirm out from under him but even with how slippery the snow was Ardeth had a very firm grip on him. Rick laughed, "Well, you've adapted quickly."

Laughing, the younger boy slid off of Rick and stood, dusting himself off. "I am Med-jai. We adapt to any circumstance."

Rick stayed on the ground for moment enjoying the feeling of snowflakes drifting down and melting on his face. Then he rose and shook the snow as best he could out of his hair catching Ardeth accidentally as some of the melting ice crystals flung his way. "Sorry 'bout that."

"I will forgive you, I suppose." Ardeth started trying to brush the snow out of his very wet hair, and made a face. "We need to get inside—I think it's almost time for our spar."

Rick nodded. Part of him didn't want to relinquish the sky, overcast as it was, just yet, but the wet cold snow in the scuffle had gotten into his coat and the cold was starting to get to him slightly. So with a last look over his shoulder, Rick followed Ardeth and Jonas and the other SG teams back inside.


	13. Chapter 13

Once inside, Jonas brought them to their room so that they could dry off before going to the training room. Ardeth grabbed a towel from the bathroom and started working on his hair.

Rick just combed his, knowing it would not cooperate with him if he were to try drying it a second time today. He hung their coats to dry over the shower curtain rod, set their boots inside the tub and lay their gloves on the side. "We have to do that again sometime before we leave if we can," he said as he came out of the bathroom.

"We should. It was a lot of fun. Although, I don't think I would like to deal with it for any length of time." Finally satisfied that his hair was as dry as it was going to get, Ardeth combed it as best as he could.

Rick nodded in agreement. "Can you imagine telling your dad, your uncle, Gen and the others about this when we get home?" he mused as they walked out the door.

"That will be quite interesting. Thankfully, considering the life of a Med-jai, they won't be concerned about whether or not it's possible, or thinking we've contracted desert fever."

"Yeah. Father Duncan might be a little concerned if I were to tell him about that." Jonas took them on to the sparring room. They hadn't been there long when Teal'c showed up with another man at his side. Like Teal'c the man had the same symbol emblazoned in gold on his forehead but he was wearing strange armor and a long cloak.

Both boys stopped their banter, and Ardeth respectfully inclined his head to Teal'c and the other man. "Good morning, Teal'c."

"Good morning, Ardeth, O'Connell. This is Bra'tac, my mentor and the man who raised me since my father was killed." Teal'c said gesturing to the other man. “Bra’tac, allow me to introduce you to Ardeth Bay and Rick O’Connell, fierce Med-jai warriors.”

"It's an honor to meet you." Rick reached out to shake his hand and Bra'tac clasped his arm much the same way that Ardeth had when they had first met.

"Well met, Bra'tac," Ardeth said formally, clasping Bra'tac's wrist after Rick was done.

“Well met,” Bra’tac said with a smile. “Teal’c has told me much about you since my arrival. I hear you are both skilled warriors, and that you train in a method of warfare very similar to that of the Jaffa.”

Ardeth smiled at that. “Yes, Teal’c and I sparred yesterday. It was a good fight,” the boy said, going over to the corner to get his scimitar. He couldn’t stand to go any longer without the comforting, familiar weight.

Teal'c nodded at the prince's comment. "Indeed, it was." Rick began doing his stretches before he would go to get his own scimitar.

Sliding his scimitar into his belt, Ardeth slid off his robes and put them to the side, very glad that he was in his own clothing again, and that it was clean. "Would you care to join us in our training?" the prince asked, as he started his own stretches.

“I would be honored," Bra'tac said with a bow. "And after you are done with your matches, if you wish you may watch while I teach Teal'c a thing or two."

Teal'c's eyes sparkled at the challenge and a smile touched his face. "You may try, old man," he said to his friend.

The boys exchanged a glance at that, grinning. Once both boys were sufficiently warmed up, Ardeth started teaching Rick the next form in offensive and defensive scimitar techniques.

Rick followed his movements in steady strokes. Teal'c and Bra'tac watched conferring with each other on the boys' sparring techniques as they watched Ardeth instruct Rick, slowly stepping up the pace as the older boy became comfortable with the movements.

After Rick was comfortable with the new forms, Ardeth led him through all of the others. "Now we'll do a free drill—you can attack or defend, but only using the forms that you are comfortable with. I will always use the corresponding form." Ardeth told Rick, pushing his hair back,

Rick nodded. After getting into position, he lunged at Ardeth using one of the newer forms he had just gone over with Ardeth. Stepping forward and turning right he used the momentum to swing the sword over his head and follow through with and angled arc at his brother's defense.

True to his word, Ardeth met the attack with the corresponding defense, letting Rick see and feel how it worked. He was also careful to not move too fast when he attacked, so that his brother would have time to recognize the move and remember the right defense.

Teal'c and Bra'tac watched as the boys fought. Bra'tac glanced at Teal'c, letting his eyes show how impressed he was. "Rick is just beginning in his training?"

"Indeed," Teal'c answered, "we are told he began a month ago."

"He has progressed well, for such a short period of time. I think it is partly due to the skill of his instructor. Ardeth seems already well advanced for his age. If he were Jaffa, he would already have command of his own garrison."

"He learns very quickly and has great adaptability. He also has a unique talent for being able to accurately predict the abilities and weaknesses of his opponents" Teal'c agreed.

Because the prince had slowed his moves Rick was able to quickly switch defenses to block Ardeth's swings. He began to catch them more quickly as they went on, keeping a fairly steady rhythm.

Once Rick was into a rhythm, Ardeth picked up the pace a little, giving the other boy less time to react. He also kept an eye on the two adults in the room as he and Rick maneuvered all over the mats.

Rick swung his scimitar around to meet Ardeth’s. He hadn't really noticed that today he didn’t have to concentrate as hard as he had before to remember to hold the scimitar correctly. He kept the sword moving fluidly through the air, attacking and defending in sequence, meeting his brother's moves blow for blow.

Finally Ardeth ended the duel by twisting his blade around Rick's and sending it flying into the corner. "You are improving, my brother. Very soon you will be able to beat Gen in the basic matches."

"Thanks," Rick said as he looked between his brother and his scimitar now lying off to the side and out of reach. He clasped his brother's arm before moving to go pick up his sword.

Sliding his own scimitar into his belt, the younger boy carefully stretched. He turned to the two men and raised an eyebrow. "The mats are all yours,"

Teal'c gestured for Bra'tac to go first. Bra'tac moved over to the weapons rack and tossed Teal'c a staff weapon, which he caught in midair. Bra'tac stood seemingly without a defensive posture of any kind. But Teal'c knew better as he circled his mentor in a crouch. He held his staff weapon in front of him defensively.

Ardeth moved to stand next to Rick, watching both men intently and explaining their stances and how each one worked, and what it was best for.

Rick listened intently as Bra'tac and Teal'c moved at the same time twirling the staff weapons expertly. Rick's eyes widened as they traded blows, each obviously knowing each other's fighting styles very well. It was impressive how they moved in and out of each other's circles.

"I wonder how many years they've been training together," Ardeth murmured, watching every move the men made and filing it away for later. He definitely wanted to try a round or two with the staff weapons.

Teal'c's and Bra'tac's fluid movements came to an abrupt end as the elder of the two stunned Teal'c long enough to knock him off his feet and disarm him. Teal'c smiled up at Bra'tac. "I will beat you yet, old man." he told him confidently.

"Until then, you still have much to learn, my friend," Bra'tac replied helping Teal'c up.

Rick smiled at Ardeth. He wanted to learn how to use a staff weapon too.

Ardeth stepped forward, moving away from the sidelines. "How many years have you two trained together?"

"How long has it been, my friend?" Bra'tac asked looking at Teal'c.

"About one hundred ten years," Teal'c answered.

Rick stared at the two adults, wide-eyed. "Wait! If you factor in the time difference then you would have been born about the same time we were!" he breathed, astonished. He exchanged a glance with Ardeth.

"Now that is a very strange thought," Ardeth said, shaking his head. "Well. Both Rick and I would appreciate some lessons with your weapons."

"I would be more than happy to instruct you," Teal'c said with a bow as he handed Ardeth a staff weapon. Rick moved to sit on the bench and watch Teal’c and Ardeth spar. Bra’tac sat with him as Teal’c started out by showing him the correct method of how to grasp the staff and the posture to use while wielding it. After that Teal’c began to lead Ardeth through a series of maneuvers as Ardeth had done for Rick, warning the boy to be mindful of the way the staff affected one’s balance as opposed to a scimitar.

Using his skill with his scimitar, Ardeth was able to move rapidly through the basic forms, although he repeated the movements many times. He used the repetition to adjust his body to the slight differences.

Teal'c sensing that Ardeth was getting the feel for the weapon stood in a position opposite of him. "Now, using the moves you have just learned, attack me."

Moving slower than he normally did when sparring, Ardeth obeyed, face expressionless as he concentrated. He didn't try to add anything to the moves just yet, just focused on getting his muscles used to the staff.

Teal'c blocked each of his moves giving the boy time to adjust to the impact the staves had as they hit each other. Once Ardeth had gone through the offensive maneuvers a few times, he and Ardeth traded roles while Ardeth blocked his attacks. After that had been repeated enough for Ardeth to get the feel of it, they began a free drill using the basic forms of staff training.

The longer staff prevented some of the boy's usual agility tricks, but he made do. Within minutes, the two warriors were moving at a very fast pace through the basics, mixing the defenses and attacks as Ardeth figured out which moves could be altered slightly to change the result.

Teal'c had to concentrate even with the basics to keep up with the boy. Bra'tac smiled from where he sat next to Rick. "Your brother is most resourceful. He is indeed a cunning warrior. It will not take him long to master the staff."

Rick smiled at the man, nodding in agreement. "It's in his nature to excel, but I don't think he recognizes it in himself yet."

Teal'c's experience and strength won out in the end, although Ardeth did his best to make certain that it would be a fight that the man wouldn't forget any time soon.

Both Rick and Bra'tac applauded as Teal'c bowed formally to Ardeth. "Well done, Ardeth," Teal'c said.

Ardeth bowed back, grinning. "Thank you, Teal'c." The boy started walking around the edge of the room to cool off and get his breath back.

Teal'c handed a staff weapon out Rick. "Do you wish to try your hand?" he asked the boy.

Rick took the staff weapon and Teal'c led him through the same moves he had taken Ardeth through. Rick had been very careful to make note of the instruction Teal'c had given Ardeth and of his brother's stance as he moved about the room. After awhile Rick and Teal'c were sparring with the staves.

Ardeth finished his lap of the room and sat next to Bra'tac, watching Teal'c and Rick work. Absently, the boy rotated his injured arm, feeling the pull from the injuries.

After a while Teal'c knocked Rick to the ground. Breathless, Rick lay still smiling up at his opponent. "I so want one of those!" he said around gasps for air.

Teal'c chuckled at that as he helped Rick to his feet.

Ardeth laughed. "Once Father deals with the scarabs, we'll search through the creature's lair and see what we can find." He promised, sliding his robes back on.

"Are you ready to eat?" Teal'c inquired as he put the staff weapons away.

"Yes, I am famished," Rick answered eagerly.

Ardeth looked up eagerly also. "Food would be excellent," he agreed with Rick, running his fingers through his hair to tame it a little.

Teal'c and Bra'tac led the way walking side-by-side reminiscing about old times, trading updates on the progress of the campaign against the goa'uld, and exchanging news about allies and family.

The boys followed behind them, discussing the staff training, in Arabic. Ardeth was determined to have Rick fluent in the language as soon as possible.

Rick followed along as best he could, and to his credit only had to ask Ardeth to repeat three sentences. It took a little longer for him to be able to speak the responses correctly. His tongue didn't seem used to rolling as much as he Arabic language required, but after practicing for a while it became a little easier for him.

Once they were in the cafeteria, Ardeth switched back to English to be polite. Both boys piled their trays very high.

Bra'tac smiled looking comparatively from the boys’ trays to Teal'c's. His own was loaded but not quite so much as theirs were. Rick dove into his food eagerly, starved after the day's exertions. "So how many of these system lords are there?" Rick asked looking between the two jaffa warriors.

The jaffa exchanged a glance. "There are many of them," Bra'tac said, after a moment. "But we are slowly destroying their base of operations."

“That’s good,” Rick said nodding, “and one less now for you to have to worry about.”

"Yes. I hope to see the downfall of all of the system lords before my death." Bra'tac told them, watching as the boys managed to finish off their trays with very little effort.

"How long do your kind normally live?" Rick asked remembering that Teal'c had told them that they had already been around for over a hundred years.

"Generally around 150 years. Does your tribe have a normal life expectancy for humans?"

It took a second for Rick to respond not quite hearing the question at first, mind still boggled at the idea of living over one hundred fifty years. "Um, I think so," Rick said finally, turning with a measure of uncertainty to Ardeth. "We do, right?"

Ardeth shrugged. "More of less. The magic-users tend to live longer than most people, but the oldest Med-jai I ever heard of was 120 when she died."

Now Rick was looking wide-eyed at Ardeth, trying to picture his brother one hundred twenty some odd years old.

"I didn't tell you? Father is almost seventy." Ardeth told Rick, trying not to grin at the expression on the other boy's face.

Rick's mouth hung open as he shook his head. "Seventy? You're kidding me! He looks like he's in his late thirties/early forties at the oldest!"

"Yes, well, now you can understand why it's a little unusual for me, the only heir to the throne, to be allowed to do things like that when I'm not of age."

"Whoa!" Rick breathed at the idea. He couldn't imagine anyone living to one hundred in their time let alone beyond it. Bra'tac and Teal'c were hiding amused grins at watching Rick try to process this new piece of information.

Ardeth shook his head. "Since you have proved that you have some powers, you will join me in living longer than a normal human. Do not worry, brother—we won't really look our age until right before we die."

"I hope not, or the rest of our tribe might start hunting us," Rick laughed as he took up their trays.

Once Rick was back, Ardeth grinned at him. "Come, my brother. It's time to help Dr. Jackson with his translation project."

Rick's face remained impassive but laughter danced through his eyes. "Yes, we must help him with that." Teal'c and Bra'tac rose to escort them to Daniel's library. When they got there, the boys had to work hard to keep straight faces as they saw Daniel seemingly beset by stacks of books he had pulled off the bookshelves to look for more ancient texts. The archaeologist looked up as they walked in. "Hey, guys. Come on in!"

"We will leave them in your care, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c said.

"Thanks Teal'c," Daniel said nodding as he carefully maneuvered his way through the mounds of books littering the floor to try and reach the boys. "So were you able to find anything yesterday?" he asked Ardeth and Rick.

"There was one in this book," Ardeth offered the book he had planted the papyrus in.

Daniel clutched the book excitedly as he hurried back over to his notes and laptop in the corner on his desk. Rick only chanced a look at Ardeth once he was sure Dr. Jackson was absorbed with his translation.

The younger boy, trying very hard not to snicker, bent over another book, writing out the next installment of their prank.

Rick just about died laughing when the thought occurred to him that they could probably do that here and still get away with it. He looked Ardeth, shaking his head. "So what this time?" he asked in a low tone so that only Ardeth could hear.

"An endurance obstacle course and a traditional garden." Ardeth whispered back.

Rick smiled, but started when the alarm began to sound like it had that morning. "Unscheduled off-world activation," the voice system sounded again. Rick grimaced at the noise, though he had to admit it was better than the skittering of scarabs or the scream the creatures emitted when they arose, or worst of all, the voice of Imhotep in his grave. A chill ran down Rick's spine at the memory, but he hadn't had the nightmare since he had come to Kiriyah Gan for which he was eternally grateful to Ardeth and his family. Rick turned to look at Daniel to see if he had even noticed the alarm.

The man looked up in annoyance, and sighed heavily. "Come on, boys. I need to go check it out."

Rick looked excitedly at Ardeth. He was curious to see what the alarm was about. Of course, he reminded himself, he had been curious when he'd heard about Hamunaptra too.

Ardeth stood, wishing he had his scimitar with him, since they were going into possible danger. The boys followed Daniel through the hallways to the embarkation room.

Just as they got there, the iris opened; and after a second, a man stepped through. He was balding slightly and had a somewhat stern face. He was dressed in a tunic that appeared to be made from some sort of bound leather hide. Daniel's face softened in recognition to see the man. "Jacob, how's it going?"

"Daniel, it's good to see you again. I need to talk to all of you." The man's face was grave, even as he greeted Daniel.

General Hammond had walked in behind Daniel and heard what Jacob had said. “I'll gather everyone in the briefing room immediately." He gestured for them to follow him and led the way up the stairs into the control room and then up another flight of stairs into a small room with a window looking down on the gate room proper. Rick and Ardeth stuck close to Daniel as Hammond went to the phone and called SG-1 from their various offices to the briefing room.

Ardeth was studying the new adult carefully, frowning a little. He sensed something strange about the man.

The man hadn’t taken notice of the boys until then, but as his eyes glanced over them, they halted to rest on Ardeth, specifically on the markings on the boy’s face. His eyes widened slightly. He hadn’t thought they still existed. Under Pharaoh Seti I, his symbiote had personally helped to train the first guard of Med-jai. He greeted the boy in the ancient tongue, curious to see if it was still used among his tribe.

Eyes wide, Ardeth stared at Jacob for a moment before bowing his head and responding formally to the traditional greeting. “How is it that you know this language?” The boy asked, unable to hold back his curiosity—the Med-jai had closely guarded their language to keep it as a protection against outsiders.

The man bowed his head for a moment and when he raised it again and spoke his voice came out distorted. Just like Sokar's. "I have been to your world many millennia ago. To help fight the goa'uld and other evils that threatened your race, I helped Seti train the Med-jai. It had been so long, that I had feared that the Med-jai had since disappeared." He smiled warmly at Ardeth. "I am glad to see that they have not."

Ardeth nodded. "You are the one called Selmak, then. Yes, the Med-jai are still present—we still hold fast to our duty to protect the world against the Creature and many of the other ancient evils."

"I am surprised you know my name. I am very pleased to hear your kind are still strong." Rick was watching the exchange with some confusion. It had startled him that Selmak's voice sounded a lot like Sokar's but since Ardeth seemed to know him and welcomed him as a friend, he supposed that he was an ally at least. He looked at the man curiously. By this time, SG-1 had assembled and Hammond motioned for them to be seated, Bra'tac, who had come with Teal'c, stood off to the side until Jacob invited him to sit as well, saying that his information concerned him too. The jaffa joined the rest of them at the table. "His voice changes?" Rick whispered to Ardeth.

"I'll tell you about it later," Ardeth promised, sincerely hoping that the adults wouldn't send them away.

Seeing the boys still standing at the far end of the room, Hammond motioned for them to be seated. Rick and Ardeth exchanged glances and quickly moved over to the remaining empty chairs. Hammond leaned over the table clasping his hands and fixing the boys with a serious gaze. "Rick, Ardeth, what you are about to hear is strictly confidential. Normally I would not allow people not directly involved with a mission to stay, but given the help you've lent my people when they’ve needed it, and the fact that it's clear that you two know how to keep a secret, I’m going to allow it this time. But you are not to discuss what you hear here with anybody outside of those persons currently present at this table. Do you both understand me?"

"We understand, General Hammond," Ardeth told him, dark eyes steady as he met the man's gaze.

Hammond nodded, then looked at Jacob. "What have you got for us, Jacob?"

Jacob turned to address the group as a whole, meeting each person’s eyes in turn, including Ardeth and Rick who, as Med-jai, he saw as equals at this table, even for their young age. "We have just received information that within twenty-four hours, the goa'uld system lord Anubis is going to launch a strike against the free jaffa forces, trying to effectively crush any hope they have at a successful rebellion. We think in doing this he's trying to gain the support of the other system lords who have joined Yu in his opposition to Anubis' return to power. We were just barely able to attain this information, and as soon as we got it, I came to bring news to you. We need to launch a counter-offensive if we're going to stop him and we need to do it now."

"This is indeed grave news." Bra'tac told the man. "The free Jaffa are gathering for a summit, so there is likely a traitor in our midst."

Jacob nodded, having thought so as well.

"Where is this summit to take place?" Teal'c asked, his expression grim.

"At the secondary base." Bra'tac sighed softly. "This challenge must be dealt with. If we want any freedom from the goa’uld, we cannot back down."

"Did your informant say exactly what Anubis has cooked up?" Jack asked.

"He's sending in his kull warriors to take out the key components of the resistance. And then Anubis intends follow and personally oversee the execution of any jaffa left alive."

"Yeah that does sound like the old dirt bag's style," Jack groaned.

"Very well. I'll authorize as many SG teams as are available to go and help with this threat. Major Carter, how many of the weapons that can kill the kull warriors can you have ready in two hours?" General Hammond demanded, looking around the room.

She did a quick calculation in her head. "We already have a number of them from our last encounter with them. I could have thirty five ready to go in two hours. The chips are all ready; all we have to do is interface them with the weapons."

"Get it done. Colonel, get your team ready, along with SG-2, 9, 13, and 15." Hammond stood, signaling the end of the briefing.

Everyone else stood, going about their errands. Jacob went with Sam to help assemble the guns. Bra'tac went with Teal'c to begin gathering supplies and O'Neill and Jonas went to notify the leaders of the other SG teams to prep for the mission. Rick and Ardeth looked at Daniel to see what they should do.

The man sighed, scrubbing a hand over his face. "I'm sorry, boys, but for now, you're going to have to stay in your room. The guards can take you to and from the cafeteria, and to the exercise room once a day, but otherwise, you'll need to stay in there until we get back."

Rick didn't want to be confined to the room again, but he understood. This mission seemed pretty urgent. And if it took place within twenty-four hours, it was only one day to have to stay cooped up. He knew Ardeth would feel the same way. They both had a pretty good idea from what they had just heard of what was at stake here.

"We have some books in there, so we'll keep ourselves entertained." Ardeth told Daniel, holding back his frustration at being confined.


	14. Chapter 14

Daniel took the boys back to their room and left them at the door with another apology. Rick and Ardeth walked inside, closing the door behind them. Then, something on the table caught Rick's eye. He smiled as he walked over to see two pizza boxes on the table waiting for them with a note from Jack. "For you to enjoy till we get back, Jack O'Neill." “He must have had one of the men bring this for us while he prepared,” he murmured.

"Food is always a good thing." Ardeth murmured, and flung himself onto his bed. "Well, at least we already got our training in for the day."

"Anubis?" Rick wondered aloud as he sat at the table. He shook his head in confusion. "Everything here seems to connect with Ancient Egypt somehow. But I thought Anubis was the mythological Egyptian god of death ."

"He is. But he is also one of the creatures—one of the ones the Med-jai never got a chance to contain. A lot of the creatures—the goua'old—take the names of Egyptian gods."

Rick nodded slowly. “And Selmak...or Jacob..." he said slowly, not sure which to call him, "you know him? And why does his voice sound like Sokar's for a while and then go back to normal again?"

"I do not know Jacob. I know Selmak only from the ancient records the Med-jai have. He is a Tok'ra—similar to the goua'old in that they must be within someone to survive, but they do not utterly destroy their host's personality. Selmak is the one who trained the first Med-jai. He would have known my ancestors."

Rick shook his head. Too many coincidences seemed to connect back between the current time and place they were in and the time and place they came from. "If I didn't know better, I'd say it's almost as if these people here, SG-1 and the people who work here are the Med-jai in this time, and they just don't know it. I mean everything here seems to connect back to us somehow."

Ardeth nodded. "I know. When we get back to our own time, we will need to write down instructions for the king of the Med-jai to contact these people after whatever date we leave, so that they can be made part of the tribes."

Rick nodded. Then a strange thought occurred to him. "Wait, you said that the oldest Med-jai magic-user lived to be one hundred twenty years old." Ardeth nodded. "So if we, as magic-users, live that long," here he paused to look at his brother, "we could be alive right now in this time and age."

The younger boy blinked at him. "That's too strange to think about. Let's think about something else."

Rick nodded in total agreement with Ardeth on that. He started dishing up slices for the both of them and then brought the plate over to Ardeth. Settling on his own bed with his plate, Rick smiled mischievously. "So how far did we get on the newest translation for Dr. Jackson?"

Ardeth smirked. "The third one is done and in place—in the next book on his stack to look through."

Rick snickered at the thought of how far they could possibly drag this out. "We might be home by the time he figures it out."

"Most likely. Too bad—I hate to miss his reaction."

"Yeah, but something tells me it might not be safe for us to be around him at that moment in time." Rick got up to get another slice of pizza.

"This is true." Ardeth got up and grabbed some more pizza for himself. "I could definitely get used to this food."

"Yeah, me too! We'll have to introduce our tribe to this!" Rick swallowed a bite. "So how are your arms doing?"

Finishing his slice of pizza, Ardeth slid out of his robes and pulled up his sleeve. The one that had been infected was bleeding a little, but the other was almost completely healed. "They are fine. How is your head?"

Rick leaned over to look at his reflection in the mirror over the dresser. "Well, it pulses every once in a while, but that's about it. I hope that alarm doesn't happen often in the mornings. After about a month of restful sleep, I was beginning to get used to it," he chuckled as he settled back onto the bed.

"You were getting used to sleep? My brother, that is something no Med-jai has the luxury of!" Ardeth's voice was serious, but his eyes were full of amusement.

Rick shrugged. "Hey, I can have my delusions, can't I?"

"Whatever makes you happy, Rick." Ardeth shook his head.

Rick flashed a wide grin. Time went slowly till, as they were looking over Dr. Jackson's books, there was a low, distant rumble. "Do you think that's the stargate?"

"I would assume so. That was a very strange experience, going through that device." Ardeth commented absently, sprawling out on his stomach on his bed and yawning.

"No kidding!" Rick said as he moved their plates off to the table and coming back to lie on his bed. "I was afraid we were going to drown when Col. O'Neill pulled us into the ring. And then it felt like I was being stabbed with shards of ice." Then Rick heard the sound of voices outside their door.

Raised voices sounded through the thick walls for a moment, then two thuds of bodies hitting the floor. Both boys sprang to their feet as the door started to open. Acting on instinct, Ardeth grabbed Rick and pulled him to the floor behind one of the beds so that they wouldn't be immediately visible.

Not again, Rick silently pleaded. Quickly he reached for a weapon as they heard cautious footsteps enter the room, and had to keep himself from groaning irritably when he remembered his and Ardeth's weapons were two floors down.

"We know you're in here. You're just making things harder on yourselves. If you cooperate, this will end well for everyone, but if you put up a fight then I can't guarantee your protection," one of the unknown men said, the sound of his voice drawing closer to where they were hiding.

Muscles tense, Ardeth listened to the footsteps approaching, and sprang up seconds before the man could see him.

Expecting resistance, the man was armed with a zat and stunned the prince. Seeing Ardeth go down from the blow, Rick jumped forward to protect his brother. But the man took aim and shot him too. Unconscious, Rick fell to the floor beside Ardeth. The man stood over them for a second to make sure they were out before calling his partner over. "Got 'em. Let's go."

The other man came hurrying in and smiled when he saw the boys sprawled out on the floor. He grabbed Rick and slung the boy over his shoulder after tying the boy's hands together behind his back.

The first man dragged the guards inside then shouldered the prince. With everyone preparing for the mission, nobody would notice their missing "guests" until they were long gone. They closed and locked the VIP room door behind them so that the guards wouldn't be able to get out when they came to.

It didn't take very much effort to get back out of the mountain, since nearly everyone was focused on sending off the SG teams.

They had an unmarked van waiting for them just far enough away not to fall under the SGC's surveillance. Placing the boys on the floor in the back, they climbed in and the driver who had been waiting for them took off.

Hearing an unfamiliar rumbling and feeling the floor moving beneath him was enough to convince Ardeth to keep his eyes closed as he woke. It took all of his concentration to keep his breathing in the same pattern he'd had while unconscious, especially since he ached all over.

There was no sound other than the noise the vehicle itself was making. The men who sat over the boys lying prone on the floor didn't talk, even though they thought that Ardeth was still asleep. Rick was unconscious next to Ardeth on the floor in the back of the van.

After several minutes, when he felt the vehicle slow, Ardeth chanced opening his eyes slightly, hoping to spot some way out of this mess.

But he heard the metal beneath him creak as the men sitting on either side stood and opened the doors to unload the boys. Rough hands grabbed them as they were hoisted over the men's shoulders like baggage and taken into a deserted building in a remote area.

For now, the boy stayed limp, since Rick was still unconscious, and he refused to leave his brother behind.

Both young Med-jai were taken to a room and set down on the concrete floor. The men carefully handcuffed their hands to a bar attached to the wall. Then they left, relying on the footage of the security camera and the guard they posted outside to know when they woke so they could begin the interrogation.

"Rick, are you awake?" Ardeth whispered, twisting his hands in the cuffs to see if there was any slack.

Rick, roused by Ardeth’s voice, groaned quietly. His head was pounding and he wasn’t enjoying the sensation that seemed like a less severe version of the torture device Sokar had used. “I’m here. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. A headache, but I think that’s to be expected.” The younger boy gave up on trying to get the handcuffs off and started trying to get the bar out of the wall. “I think the NID managed to snatch us.”

"Not again," Rick grumbled. "Didn't we just go through this? How did they make it out of the SGC without anyone seeing us?" he said as he began trying to assess their surroundings.

"I think they waited until everyone was busy seeing off the teams that were going to fight Anubis. There was probably plenty of confusion then."

"Great," Rick sighed as he looked at his brother out of the corner of his eye, trying not to move and draw the attention of the guard outside. "What now? They have us, we don't know where they've brought us, and SG-1 won't notice we're missing until they get back, and who knows when that will be."

"For now, we play innocent. We need to buy as much time as we can. Speak in English as little as possible. Every time they find a translator for me, I will switch languages. And if I get a chance, I will use my powers to mess things up." Ardeth hesitated, then shrugged. "I have no idea how my powers will behave, since we aren't in Egypt, though."

Rick scoffed slightly. "At least they don't have Dr. Jackson on their side," speaking what little he could in Arabic. But his heart missed a beat as he heard the door being unlocked behind him.

"Go limp!" Ardeth hissed, obeying his own orders but keeping his eyes just barely open.

Rick let his body hang in the handcuffs around the bar in the wall, resting all his weight on his arms suspended over his head. The man walked in and loomed over the two boys.

Ardeth watched the man carefully, muscles tense. If the man did anything to Rick, he was going to get a nasty surprise, and discover why it's a good idea to tie your captive's feet as well as their hands.

He knelt next to his captives, studying them each closely. After a moment, his eyes narrowed and he stood again, nudging the both of them roughly with his boot. "You're not fooling anyone. I know you're awake."

Ardeth stayed still, struggling against his instincts to keep his breathing steady.

"Cooperate, or we'll have to do this the hard way," the man's tone became sharp.

Considering the man's face and voice, Ardeth chanced a glance over at Rick.

Like we haven't heard that one before, Rick was thinking inwardly. The least these bad guys could do is come up with something a little more original than that. The only draw back was that this guy had options on which one of them he was going to use to get to the other. If they didn't move, he might hurt his brother. With a sigh he opened his eyes and met the man's gaze squarely with his own.

The man's pleased smile was not kind. "Good. We have many things to discuss, and things will be very unpleasant for you if you do not cooperate."

"How did I know you were going to say that?" Rick said rolling his eyes. "Actually I don't think we have anything to discuss." He looked at the man indifferently as if he didn't know what the man was referring to and didn't care.

The man's jaw clenched. "Oh, we have much to discuss. But first, our medical team wants to examine both of you. I would recommend that you don't resist them, or you will find out just how painful shots can be."

Rick's muscles tensed. "Oh I don't think that's necessary. We've already had our medical exam this week." Of all the tortures they want to pull, they choose doctors first! Rick was concerned about how Ardeth would hold up. It was unpleasant enough for him with healers he actually trusted.

"Well, I'm certain Dr. Frasier won't share the results of her test. Besides, she often neglects . . .certain types of tests that we just can't ignore."

Rick stared at the man, trying to keep his face expressionless as his blood ran cold and his imagination began to run wild with all the possible meanings his words could hold. Rick's eyes flitted over to the man who came in the cell door wearing the same sort of coat Dr. Frasier had been wearing.

"I'll just leave you boys alone with the good doctor." The man stood and left the room, smirking.

Rick was staring daggers at the man as he left and then switched targets to glare at the doctor. “You’ll run tests on me first,” he demanded, silently setting his will against any opposition. There were certain things he could be dissuaded from but this was not one of those things and he let it show in his steely gaze.

The doctor shrugged. "Doesn't matter to me," he said, with a smile. He pulled some medical equipment out of his bag.

"Brother, what are you doing?" Ardeth demanded in Arabic.

"Trying to buy us some time," he replied quietly to Ardeth in Arabic. "Let me do this." He met his brother's eyes, silently pleading for him to go along.

"Be careful, my brother," Ardeth warned, watching the doctor warily.

Rick nodded and held Ardeth's gaze for a moment longer. Then he looked up at the doctor, fixing his eyes on the man. He was trying to see if he could discern any particular weakness in him as well as watch for any possible opportunity to arise to where they could try and escape.

The man was completely absorbed in what he was doing, and knelt next to Rick to pull his sleeve up. Ardeth shifted restlessly, especially when the man got a needle ready.

Rick held steady, watching his every move. The man called the guard in who upon entering at a nod from the doctor leveled his gun at Ardeth.

"I'm going to uncuff one of your arms so I can take a few blood samples,” the doctor explained. “But if you try anything your friend dies.”

Rick's jaw tightened but he did not struggle when the doctor uncuffed one of his hands from the bar.

Both of Ardeth's fists were clenched as he watched the doctor take blood from Rick. He completely ignored the gun aimed at him.

Rick's eyes never left the man, boring through him like lasers. Once he had finished taking the blood samples, he put Rick's hand back in the handcuff again and then laid the vials of his blood on the tray. All the while, Rick was racking his brain, desperate to remember the words he had said back in the crypt when the unas had attacked them. He wasn't certain it would work here, but it was worth a try. But the memory was still kind of hazy in his mind, especially from the energy it had cost him.

The doctor then drew out his stethoscope and started listening to Rick's heart and lungs. He gave the boy nearly a complete medical checkup, without once letting him be completely free of the cuffs.

"Well, I'm alive. Fancy that," Rick said as the doctor rose and seemed to be finished. "You know, you could have taken my word for it when I told you that to begin with." He was trying to provoke the doctor, wanting to do anything to catch him off his guard, possibly get him to forget about Ardeth for a while or altogether.

The doctor just looked at him like he was insane. "Well, of course you are alive. Otherwise we wouldn't be talking. Move over, it's your friend's turn."

"His results will be the same," Rick said firmly, refusing to move.

"Guard, move him." The doctor ordered, stepping back so that the man could get in more easily.

The guard stepped closer to Rick and reached down trying to drag him away from Ardeth. Rick kicked out at the man trying to knock him off his feet.

As the guard went to kick Rick, Ardeth's leg shot out and tripped the guard. He got up, standing crouched since the bar wouldn't let him straighten, but ready to fight as best as he could.

Rick tried to drag with his boot the key ring that fell from the guard's hand closer hoping that he would also have a key on there for the handcuffs. The doctor rushed over with a hypodermic of sedative he had prepared in case this happened.

Ardeth spat out a phrase in Ancient Egyptian, and the hypodermic exploded in the doctor's hand. Using the bar to swing against, Ardeth kicked the guard hard, knocking him out.

"Got it," Rick cried in triumph as he started sorting through keys trying to find the one identical to the key the doctor used. Having been startled by the shattering of the syringe in his hand, Rick's words brought him back to the situation and he grabbed a gun from his holster.

"Drop the keys now!" he demanded aiming the gun at Rick's head.

"Do you want to die?" Ardeth asked the doctor, barely remembering to keep speaking in Arabic.

The doctor didn't have to speak Arabic to recognize that Ardeth was threatening him. He pointed the gun at him. "Put the keys down now or I'll shoot him." Rick froze. He didn't want to push his luck. The man was scared and liable to do what he said, whether he was supposed to or not. "Do it!" the man yelled seeing Rick's hesitation.

Ardeth glared at the man, daring him to shoot him. "You will put down your weapon."

After a second, four more guards piled into the room, weapons bearing down on both of the boys. Rick scowled at the men, swearing as he let the key ring fall from his hands. The men moved closer pressing a gun to his temple forcing him to the ground as far as he could go with his hands still cuffed to the bar.

"Get away from him!" Ardeth tugged against the handcuffs, frustrated, trying to defend Rick.

"It's alright," Rick said in Arabic, trying to calm Ardeth. "I'm alright." He met Ardeth's eyes. "Live today, fight tomorrow," he said softly.

Jaw clenched tight, Ardeth backed down and let the other guard force him to the ground also. "They didn't hurt you?"

"No," Rick said as they shoved him back away from Ardeth. They had hit his back and he would probably have a bruise there to match the one he had garnered from the nightstand in their room, but it was negligible. Rick struggled against the guards as he saw the doctor moving towards Ardeth, but they had him securely pinned to the floor. All he could do was watch, helpless to protect his brother.

The boy struggled against the two guards holding him down until they practically sat on him to hold him still for the doctor. Ardeth hoped that the NID didn't realize that he was the reason the hypodermic had exploded earlier.

"Hey, easy!" Rick said protesting their rough treatment of Ardeth.

"Shut your mouth, kid!" the doctor said not turning away from what he was doing. "If you hadn't fought us over this in the first place we wouldn't have to treat him like this." Once he was done extracting the blood, he turned to Rick, shaking the vial of Ardeth's blood in his face. "And let's get one thing straight: as far as the world is concerned, the two of you don't exist. You have no rights, no hope of being rescued. You belong to us, and we'll do with you both as we please." He set the vials down on the tray and continued to examine the prince.

Making the whole experience as difficult as possible for the doctor, by the time the man was done, Ardeth was exhausted. Both of the guards were also worn out, and very glad to get away from the young Med-jai.

If their situation hadn't been so serious Rick would have laughed at how quickly the guards left the room. The doctor left a second later to run his blood tests and enter the data he had gathered from the unwilling participants. Rick scooted closer to Ardeth. "Are you alright?"

"I will be fine," Ardeth murmured, sagging against the wall and letting his weight rest against his abused wrists. "Stealing blood? These people are worse than I thought."

"Jack did seem to indicate that they were pretty bad. I'll be glad when we get back to our time with the nice evils resting beneath sacred sites. At least they don't have needles," he groaned leaning his head back against the wall.

"Yes. I cannot wait to be home again. I wonder how long it will take them to figure out that I do not speak the language they expect?"

"Hopefully, a good long while. Maybe that will help to by us some time, because I don't know as many languages as you do and I may not be able to follow through the cycles," he sighed. "I wonder what it is they think we know. But from how the guards reacted they mean serious business."

Ardeth nodded. "I know. Do not worry—if I switch to a language you don't know, I'll just use the bond to talk. Actually, we might want to start using that now—we have no idea what these people are capable of."

"Yeah and I don't want to even consider the possibilities right now either," Rick said grimacing. He looked at Ardeth and tried to communicate through their bond. He had often wondered if it were possible, but he had never had the chance to test it. ‘Can you hear me?’ he thought.

'No need to shout, my brother,' Ardeth told him, through the bond. 'If you are focused on speaking to me, then I will hear you.'

Rick smiled. ‘Whoa! It works. This will make pranks so much easier now!'

'It certainly will. Later, when we know they will leave us alone for the night, I will show you the way to fully enter the bond—we will be able to see each other face to face.'

Rick shook his head at the abilities this bond gave them. 'So do many Med-jai have a bond like the one we share?'

'No, not really. Generally, it is common among the royal family, and among healers and their apprentices. All twins share this bond.’

Rick froze at this, looking distant as that statement brought up a memory he had not thought about in years.

Ardeth, catching both Rick's change of mood and expression, raised an eyebrow. 'What's wrong, Rick?'

Rick refocused on Ardeth. At length he spoke, 'I had a twin brother, but there were complications with the delivery and he died in child birth.' There was a deep pain in Rick’s eyes.

'I never knew that. I am sorry, Rick,' Ardeth told him quietly, letting his sympathy through the bond.

'You couldn't have known,' Rick thought, shaking his head. 'I never told anyone. The only other person in the world who knows is Father Duncan who did the funeral.' Rick shook his head confused. 'But if he's gone, how do I have this bond? Did you have a brother?'

Ardeth shook his head. 'No, I am an only child. Although, my grandmother has often said that I am missing the brother of my soul.’

'"Brother of your soul"?' Rick repeated confused. He had heard Ardeth speak this term of him but really didn't understand what it meant.

'Grandmother told me that somewhere in the world, there is a man who holds the missing piece of my soul. She said that I am supposed to be the twin of someone, but we got separated before birth.’

Rick paused and shook his head for a moment. 'No, it's not possible,' he said looking at his brother very closely now, though he really wasn't sure what he would be looking for. 'Did she happen to mention a name?'

The younger boy shook his head. 'No, she told me she would tell it to me when I was older. I did overhear her talking to Father once about Richard and David, though.’

Rick's face went ghostly-white. His eyes began to swim and his mouth hung open slightly. He reached over and grasped Ardeth's arm as best he could from the way they were handcuffed. 'It's not possible... is it?' In a way, everything they had been through since they met, the instantaneous compulsion to protect each other, how they had grown so close over a relatively short period of time, it all began to make sense but still it wasn't possible. 'David?'

'Rick, what's wrong?' Ardeth demanded, eyes concerned about the older boy. He also shifted as best as he could, to return Rick's touch.

‘My brother's name was David,’ he breathed as tears began to flow down his cheeks.

Ardeth's eyes widened. 'We are truly brothers, then—our souls are the souls of twins. This is amazing.'

Rick leaned his head back against the wall, nearly exhausted from this discovery. 'We've been brothers all along, and somehow part of us knew it," he said wiping his face against his shoulder. 'Wait until your dad and your uncle hear about this.’

'They will be thrilled. I know that they have been worried about who my soul brother would turn out to be.' Ardeth paused. 'When were you born?'

'August 4, 1903,' Rick replied. 'You?'

'June 4, 1904,' Ardeth told him.

Rick counted out the months quickly. 'Ten months, we were born ten months apart.' He shook his head still shocked. He hung his head for a second to catch his breath. When he raised it again, he locked eyes with Ardeth as he smiled. 'If I were to choose who would be my brother, it would be you."

'I feel the same, my brother. We are meant to be together.' The younger boy shook his head. 'I think we were also meant to attract trouble.'

'And now we know why,' Rick chuckled with a devious smile.

'Let's get some rest—I don't know what these idiots have planned, but we can be fairly certain that it won't be pleasant.'

'Now there would be an idea! Reverse psychology! The bad guys we fight should try that some time!' Rick scoffed, but he agreed with Ardeth. Trying to get into a comfortable position, he leaned back against the wall trying to fall asleep which wouldn't take long after what they had been through today.  



	15. Chapter 15

Ardeth wasn't able to fall asleep easily, he kept on thinking about all that happened that day, including the new revelations. He was also sore from resisting the doctor earlier.

After an hour or two, the door opened and the man from before came in. He carried a tape player under one arm and a clipboard with the blood test results under the other. He had four guards behind him, not willing to take any chances after the fight these boys had put up with the doctor.

'Rick! They're back,' Ardeth called through the bond, straightening and fixing his best glare on the man.

Rick opened his eyes, rolling them when he saw the number of guards in the room. Without a weapon of some sort, he doubted any escape attempt on their part would succeed against so many men. He sat up and looked at the agent who placed the items on the table. Sitting down, he nodded to the guards who came over unlocked the boys’ handcuffs and then forced them to sit in the other two chairs at the table while handcuffing them to metal loops that extended up from the table top.

"What do you suppose that machine is?" Ardeth asked, hoping to figure out if any of the men in the room could speak Arabic.

"It's a tape deck," the NID agent replied in the same language. "And yes I speak Arabic. So you cannot hide behind that any longer." He reverted back to English. "And I know that you speak English so you can cut the act."

"Shall we play find the language?" The prince asked, switching to French, eyes narrow.

"Only if you wish to suffer the consequences," the man said, smiling pleasantly. He pushed a button on the tape deck and Rick could clearly hear their voices emanating from the device. It was the conversation they had as they were deciding on a subject for the scroll they were going to set Dr. Jackson up with, both boys at the time speaking English fluently.

Ardeth exchanged a glance with Rick, and sighed, conceding defeat in this area. "How did you get that conversation?" He demanded, purposely thickening his accent now, so that they would think he was stressed and upset.

"I'm the one asking the questions here, and I expect to get some answers, or there will be repercussions. Now tell me what you know about the goa'uld system lords."

'This will be a dangerous game,' Ardeth sent to Rick before straightening in the chair and making certain that his body language was guarded, but leaking some confusion, fear, and honesty. "We learned from Dr. Jackson and Teal'c that they are evil creatures trying to take over the universe."

The man looked at him unflinching, unmoving, clearly expecting more from the boy and trying to use intimidation to get it out of him. "That's all we know." Rick said, supporting Ardeth.

"I find that difficult to believe since when SG-1 found you, you were currently protecting Sokar's resting place," the man said tilting his head in suspicion.

"My ancestors left instructions that we were to guard the place where the creature was buried to prevent it from ever waking. If a way was found to destroy it, then that was to be done. I did not even know the name of that filth until SG-1 found it out." Ardeth told the man, considering his words carefully.

"So you say. But you know what I think?"

"No," Rick said sarcastically feigning eager enthusiasm. "Pray, tell us!"

Ardeth snickered at that, and gave the man a satisfied smirk. If the boys couldn't phase him with words, then they would do it by being boys.

The man let the comment go. The boy would be singing a different tune later. "I think maybe your ancestors were in league with the goa'uld and protecting them from any who might be out to kill him while he was in hiding. Why else would you treat SG-1 as aggressors the moment the came through the gate?" he asked leaning forward and resting his arms on the table.

'Oh my word! This man is a moron!' Rick thought angrily to Ardeth.

'He clearly knows nothing of the Med-jai. Actually, this will work quite well.' Ardeth stood, shoving back the chair. His hands were still cuffed to the table, but he wasn't tall enough yet that he had to bend because of that. He stared at the man, dark eyes glittering furiously. "You insult my tribe!" He snarled in Arabic—one of the worst things someone could do was insult a person's tribe. That meant that the person who delivered the insult would never be accepted or spoken to by anyone in the tribes ever again, and rejected by all tribes who were allied with the insulted tribe also.

The man knew the significance of the insult he had dealt Ardeth and stood also meeting the prince’s eyes with his own, their wills clashing. "Then tell me what you know and prove me wrong!"

"I already told you the truth—you understand the insult you have given to me, Ardeth Bay of the Med-jai. You should also know that we of the Med-jai do not lie! And know this—if I so decree it, you and your organization will never be recognized by any of the Bedouin ever again." Ardeth told the man, letting a little of his authority as prince show through.

"Like I care," the man said as he settled back into his chair. "Sit down. I know your holding back on us. For example, what is Hamunaptra?"

Ardeth remained standing, staring at the man silently for a long moment. "Surely you know of the legend of Hamunaptra. Everyone thinks they know that myth," he finally said, scornfully, showing his displeasure at having to speak to one who had insulted him.

The man kept his eyes on the boy as he pushed the button on the tape deck. Rick and Ardeth's voices sprang back to life as they talked about Hamunaptra for a moment when Rick had been worried that the tome they had found in Daniel's office might have dangerous information in it. 'Stupid!' Rick scolded himself inwardly. 'I knew the alarm clock was on the wrong stand!"

"I will not speak to you any more. You are a deceiver." Ardeth declared, and sat down.

"Oh, you'll speak to me," the man assured him, his eyes glimmering with a dark confidence. "The only question that remains is how much will your friend suffer before you do?" He nodded and one of the guards uncuffed Rick from the table then replaced them around his wrists. The boy struggled against the guard once he was uncuffed, and the guard had a great deal of difficulty getting them back on. Another guard had to help subdue him. By the time this was done, from this fight and the earlier struggle, his wrists were bleeding. The second guard, who was about as huge as Teal'c, grabbed his shirt by the collar and threw him over into the corner.

"So you have to ask yourself this," the NID agent purred, "Is your pride worth your friend's life."

Ardeth locked eyes with Rick. 'My brother, I am sorry. I will do what I can to protect you,' the young Med-jai promised, then turned his burning gaze back onto the man. "I am Med-jai. You would have me dishonor the vows I made when I first received my tribal markings. I will never reveal what I know to anyone who is not Med-jai."

'Don't worry about me,' Rick replied to Ardeth's thought. He looked the guard up and down appraisingly. 'I think I can take him,' though he knew if he was going to do this he would need an advantage somehow.

"Then why don't we just sit back and enjoy the show," the man offered propping his feet up on the table as if he were watching a football game.

'I will disable the recording device while they are distracted. And I will do my best to use my powers to keep the guard off-balance. Be careful, my brother,'

‘No problem,’ he chuckled ruefully. He crouched low, knowing his maneuverability would help him a little against the guard. He wasn’t as agile as Ardeth was, but he might be more so than this man. He ducked under a swing aimed at his head and caught the man’s arm between his hands wrapping the chain of the handcuffs around his wrist while pressing his arm against his assailant’s trying to dislocate his arm and disable him quickly.

Startled, the man jerked back, unknowingly saving himself from a dislocated shoulder. Ardeth kept part of his attention on the fight, but focused on the recording. He whispered under his breath in Ancient Egyptian, and smirked in satisfaction when wisps of smoke went up from the tape recorder. Fighting back the fatigue from using his powers, he turned his attention completely to the man attempting to beat up his brother.

Because the man had jerked backwards it had knocked Rick slightly off balance and though he recovered it quickly, the man was on him in a second, throwing more punches. Catching Rick in the face this time since he worked on getting his footing, the boy fell back stunned for a moment to the floor. But the chain of the handcuffs was still wrapped around one of his wrists and the man fell too. Rick barely rolled out from under him in time, quickly unwrapping the cuffs from his wrist. While the guy was still recovering from the blow, he sat with his weight squarely on the man's back and wrapped the chain around the man's neck holding it tight until the man would pass out from the lack of oxygen.

Spotting one of the other guards pulling his gun to go to his friend's aid, Ardeth narrowed his eyes and whispered a word. Immediately, the man lost his balance and fell, his gun skidding across the floor.

Once he saw it go clattering across the floor, Rick made a run for it, but one of the other guards grabbed him before he could reach it and threw him up against the wall. The impact his head had on the concrete, which had already been sore with the bump he had gotten when Sokar had knocked him out, sent stars dancing across his vision.

'Rick!' Ardeth called through their bond, struggling against the handcuffs holding him to the table.

Hearing Ardeth's mind helped to bring him out of the daze somewhat and he kicked out at the guard, who went down groaning in pain. Rick dove for the gun, going into a roll and coming up right next to the NID agent. He pressed the gun to his temple. "Release my friend right now!" he grated angrily at the man. The guards aimed their guns at Rick but couldn't fire because he was holding their leader at gunpoint. "Weapon's down or he's dead!" Rick shouted at them, pressing the muzzle of the weapon even harder against the man's head.

Slowly, the guards started to obey. When one of the men went near Ardeth without the keys, thinking to grab a hostage to use against Rick, he found himself lying on his back contemplating the dizzying swirl of the ceiling.

Rick almost laughed at the man's predicament but kept his mind focused on the situation, careful not to let his guard down. "If someone doesn't unlock his handcuffs right now, I'm gonna redecorate the room in brain matter!" Rick had heard someone else use the phrase back in Cairo and it sounded threatening enough but it did sound odd coming out of his own mouth. And right now he would do it too, though he truly didn't want to.

'Rick, that's disgusting,' Ardeth murmured through their bond, keeping a wary eye on the man who had been questioning them. He was clenching his fists, obviously trying to think of something to do. One of the other men pulled some keys out of his pocket, glancing anxiously at his friend being held by Rick.

'As long as it works, I really don't care,' Rick chuckled ruefully. 'Are you ready to go?' he asked as he kept his eyes on the guards. Seeing the one with the keys hesitant, he tightened his grip on the gun, angling the barrel threateningly as he locked eyes with the man. "Quickly!” he demanded, annoyed.

The guard scrambled to obey, nearly running into Ardeth in his haste. The young Med-jai leapt back as far as he could, body tense in case this was a trap.

The man nervously fumbled with the keys, and Rick watched warily as the man struggled to find the right one. What he didn't notice was the NID agent's hand subtly moving to the concealed weapon holster he had under the table.

Sensing danger, Ardeth looked around the room carefully as the man worked to free his hands. Spotting movement out of the corner of his eye, the boy saw the leader bringing his gun to bear on Rick and reacted, spitting out a phrase loaded with power. The man went flying backwards and slammed into the wall, the gun half-melted in his hand.

Rick was startled slightly by this and cast his aim back and forth between the leader and the man with the keys who had just finished as his friend had slammed against the wall. "Okay, now back away from him slowly." he instructed in a commanding tone.

Snatching the keys from the man, Ardeth carefully made his way over to Rick, keeping an eye on the men in the room. He quickly freed Rick's hands, then snatched up a gun for himself. 'Come, my brother, let's get out of this place!'

Rick tossed the handcuffs into the corner and backed out the door following Ardeth once they got outside, Rick closed the door and took the keys that Ardeth handed to him and locked it. He handed them back to Ardeth just in case they would need them again later. 'Okay which way?’ he asked through their bond looking up and down the junction of halls they were at.

Ardeth closed his eyes and tilted his head back, reaching out with his senses as far as he could. 'That way,' he said, after a moment, turning to the left.

Rick followed him as they quickly raced down the narrow hallways of the abandoned building, gun raised ready for anything. 'How you doing, buddy?' he asked worried about how much helping to defend him back in the cell had drained his energy reserves.

'I'm going to need to sleep a lot soon, and hopefully get some food. But that can wait until we're out of this place. How is your head?' Ardeth asked, turning down another passageway.

'It's talking,' Rick admitted grimacing, 'but I'll live.' The boy followed after. He smiled in relief when he began to see daylight filtering in and reflecting off the tile flooring and pools of water that had leaked through the ceiling over the years in which he assumed the structure had fallen into disrepair. 'We're almost there,' he sighed. Though he wasn't sure how far they would make it through the snow without protective clothes and gear. But they'd worry about that once they were away from the NID. His pace quickened, eager to get out of here.

Ardeth was almost to a hole in the wall when he heard a loud crack and felt a sharp flash of pain buckle his leg. He fell hard to the floor, barely getting his hands up in time to protect his face.

'Ardeth!' Rick cried, rushing to his side, searching for the unseen assailant. A moment later there was another crack and he joined his brother on the floor, grasping at his thigh which radiated a familiar pain. As he heard the footsteps approach he pulled himself up slightly, resting most of his weight on his arms, and hovered protectively over his brother.

Swallowing back nausea from the pain, Ardeth sat up as much as he could, looking around for their attackers. Moments later, a dozen guards came pouring into the room, guns aimed at the two boys.

They shoved both boys to the ground roughly bringing all their weight and weapons to bear on the two of them as the guards handcuffed them again with their hands behind their backs this time and handcuffing their feet too. Rick hissed sharply as they grabbed his legs to hold them still while one of the guards placed the manacles on his ankles. He looked up to lock eyes with Ardeth to check on him.

The boy's face was white, but he didn't make a sound as his feet were cuffed together. He was shivering lightly in the guard's grasp, both from the chill in the room and the shock of his new injury.

'Ardeth, hold on,' Rick thought trying to help talk his brother through the pain, ignoring his own. 'It's gonna be okay. We're gonna get out of this.'

'Of course we are,' Ardeth whispered back, and managed a slight smile. 'We are Med-jai, after all.'

Rick gave a small smile back before the guards picked the boys up and took them back to the cell. When they had released the men Rick and Ardeth had locked in the cell, the guard who had initially attacked Rick which had started this conflict gave his injured leg an angry kick, infuriated that the boy had knocked him out. This elicited an anguished groan from Rick.

Ardeth's eyes narrowed, and he looked at the man. "If you touch my brother again, I will kill you." His voice was very serious.

"Small words, coming from a boy who can't even stand right now," he scoffed as he left the cell.

The NID man stood at the door his arms crossed. "I'm going to give you two some time to consider the consequences of defying us. When I come back we will try this again, and by the time I am done with you, you will consider being shot in the leg a blessing by comparison." He slammed the door as he left the room, plunging the cell into darkness.

'That didn't go so well,’ Ardeth murmured, awkwardly trying to get closer to Rick. 'How bad is your leg?'

Rick had to try and level out his breathing before answering. 'Bad enough until that moron stepped on me.' His thoughts were faint as the blow the man had dealt him had almost made him pass out. 'I'll live even though it doesn't feel like it right now,’ he forced himself to admit. Rick was struggling just to stay conscious and to tamp down the flashbacks that had started rising from the moment he got shot, but he was still concerned about Ardeth. 'Are you alright?'

'I think the bullet hit the bone,' Ardeth admitted, biting his lip. 'The bone is definitely broken, and the bullet is still in there. Did yours go all the way through?'

'I'm not sure,' Rick said shaking his head. 'It's different than last time, so I don't think so.' Rick had to focus on something other than the pain for moment. He took a few unsteady breaths. 'We were so close,' Rick thought, frustrated.

'I know. I wonder how they found us so quickly,' Ardeth said, sending as much comfort through the bond as he could.

'I don't know. Do you think they expected us to make a run for it?' he asked quietly, leaning his head back against the wall.

The younger boy sighed into the darkness. 'At this point, I would guess yes. But how they knew we would go that way, I have no idea.'

Rick was starting to get dizzy. 'We need to tie off these wounds before we pass out,’ he said as he tore his sleeve and then started to try and slide it under the handcuff. It was difficult to do in the dark, but he finally managed to get it off. Tearing it again into two strips as best he could with how little he could move his bound hands, he began to reach for Ardeth, using the bond to sense where he was. 'I'm sorry, Ardeth. This is really gonna hurt,’ he said as he began to lift his brother's leg slightly so he could slide the cloth underneath and tie off the jagged hole to stop the bleeding.

His breathing ragged, the younger boy helped as best as he could, but ended up having to lay back. 'Amir is going to kill both of us,'

Rick chuckled slightly, starting to black out as he finished. 'If your dad doesn't kill us first. There, done,' he said as he finished Ardeth's and began to tie his own leg. But moving the leg didn't help the uphill battle he was fighting. He lost consciousness, his body falling limp to the ground.

'Rick?' Ardeth called through the bond, then bit his lip. He got as close to Rick as he could and finished bandaging the older boy's leg. Then he lay down next to Rick, hoping to share their body heat.


	16. Chapter 16

The door opened a few hours later, the NID agent coming in and flicking on the lights. At the harsh light, Rick woke up, scowling and cursing the man softly. The sudden contrast compounded the headache he had from the blood loss and the fact that his vision was still incredibly blurred due to the trauma.

"Sleep well, boys?" the man asked pleasantly.

Ardeth sat up, shifting so that he was in front of Rick, blocking the light from reaching the other boy. 'Lie still, Rick.' Ardeth ordered, fixing his glare on the NID man.

'Okay, ' Rick replied, hardly in a condition to argue.

The agent sat at the table as if nothing had changed. "Let's begin again. You are going to tell me about Hamunaptra," he spoke conversationally, obviously expecting to get their cooperation one way or another.

Ardeth's eyes narrowed. "Do you know what these marks on my face mean?"

"According to Dr. Jackson's report," he said opening the file he had brought with him, "it means 'protector of mankind'. And if this is the case, if you truly are a protector of mankind, you will tell us what and where it is. There may be weapons there that we can use to defend ourselves against the goa'uld. By keeping it from us, you only prove yourself an ally of those monsters."

"You are skilled with words," Ardeth told him, sitting up straighter and hiding his wince. "Yes, I am a protector of mankind. I protect humanity from all sorts of evils—such as the evil within your heart."

The man’s eyes narrowed. “You may think I’m evil, but I do what I have to in order to protect earth. If that means I have to resort to desperate measures, then that’s what I do. You're willing to sacrifice your life and your friend's life for this secret you are guarding. So you and I are no different. That is why I'm not letting either of you walk out of here alive until we get what we want from you."

"Then we will see who is the stronger man, for I will not forsake my vows." Ardeth told him, voice full of conviction.

The man rose and went to the door, motioning for the guards to come in. "Maybe your friend is not bound to these sacred vows," he suggested as the men entered the room and surrounded the prince. "He seems to be very protective of you but he's not really one of your kind, are you, O'Connell?"

Rick, seeing what they were doing from where he lay, tensed. 'Don't you dare!' his mind raged at the man. But his voice was even as he spoke out loud. "Ardeth and I are the same. Both of us are bound to the same vows, both sworn to protect the world. I am Med-jai," he spoke with an authority he rarely used. It was the first time he had really claimed his destiny in front of anyone. He was usually very uncertain of his way when it came to this new-found destiny he had discovered when he and Ardeth had met, but he found strength of resolve enough for this moment.

"Both of us are Med-jai. You will not gain anything from this other than death," Ardeth warned the man, glaring at the guards.

"We shall see," the agent said, tilting his head indifferently and nodding to the guards.

"Leave him alone!" Rick demand as they hauled Ardeth to his feet. He reached over and tried to pull their feet out from under them, but two of the guards came over and held him pinned to the wall as the guards began to viciously beat the prince. Rick opened the bond wide, trying to strengthen Ardeth and help absorb some of the pain for him.

Ardeth had already closed off his part of the bond, though, as best as he could. With his hands and feet chained, he couldn't defend himself at all. So the boy made certain to give the men no satisfaction by showing his pain.

Rick tried to focus with all his might on the lessons of magic, his mind racing for anything that might save his brother, while still struggling against the guard's hold on him. The rush of adrenaline made it increasingly difficult for them to keep him down.

When one of the men landed a punch that winded Ardeth and knocked him to the floor, the NID agent raised his hand. "Stop," he ordered, and the guards all pulled back. "So, O'Connell, is there anything you would like to tell me?"

"How slowly you're going to die when I get a hold of you?" Rick spat at him, his eyes burning through the man like lasers. "He's done nothing to you. I'm the one who led the escape attempt; take your anger out on me!"

"Oh, don't worry—it will be your turn soon enough." The man promised, pulling the tape deck across the table. "Now, how did you destroy this?"

"We don't even know what it is or how it works. How would we know how to destroy it?" Rick asked putting on a very convincing look of confusion. "Besides, you were there the whole time, watching us. We didn't even touch it. If we had, you would have seen us since it was sitting right in front of you."

The man's eyes narrowed. "And how did I get thrown into the wall, and my gun melted?" He demanded, pulling the damaged weapon out of his pocket and putting it on the table.

Rick shook his head looking at the gun in confusion. "We didn't understand it either but we weren't about to pass the opportunity up," Rick explained as he examined the gun seemingly just as surprised as the agent had been.

Ardeth finally managed to sit up but still kept the bond closed, since he was having a hard time keeping the pain under control. He almost grinned when he saw the melted gun, and wondered in the man knew how fortunate he was that the prince's aim was off, or that would have been his hand.

Rick held the man's gaze steadily not flinching. He was glad to see movement out of the corner of his eye when Ardeth sat up. 'Ardeth?' he called out through the bond, but since Ardeth's end was still closed, he didn't hear him or respond.

"I am going to find out your secrets, one way or another," the man promised darkly, and stormed out of the room.

The guards after glaring at the boys followed, and Rick rushed over to Ardeth's side, trying to carefully help him sit up. “Ardeth,” Rick breathed quietly.

"Let me stay still, just for a minute," Ardeth whispered, fighting against the cuffs on his wrists and ankles to get more comfortable.

Rick nodded and sat by him, ready to help him the moment he needed something. Seeing his brother tortured pained him greatly, and he would have given anything at that moment to take the pain for him.

Finally managing to get the pain somewhat under control, Ardeth opened the bond back up so that Rick would be able to feel that he was still there.

Rick breathed a bit easier once he could feel Ardeth through their bond again. Since they had discovered the bond, it had become very unsettling when he couldn't sense his brother. And every time he was cut off from Ardeth, a thrill of fear ran through him. He sent as much strength and comfort as he could trying to help the prince with the pain.

'Keep your strength, brother. They will not give up easily,' Ardeth warned, lifting his cuffed hands to wipe the blood off of his face.

Rick shook his head. 'We strengthen each other, remember?' he said repeating the words that Ardeth had spoken to him in Egypt. Inwardly, his blood was boiling—for that man to have done this to his brother… Rick looked over him trying to assess the extent of his injuries.

Ardeth's upper lip, cheek, and eyebrow were all split, he had several bruises, and the rest of the injuries were hidden by his robes. 'I will be fine, my brother. I've had worse injuries from scimitar practice.'

Rick laughed sadly. 'You've got to be kidding me.' He shook his head.

With a grin, the younger boy sat up a little straighter. 'No, actually, I'm not kidding.'

‘You must be going easy on me then,’ Rick sighed as, without thought, he leaned protectively over Ardeth.

'Not by too much—you saw my duel with Teal’c, and there I was going all out against an unfamiliar foe.’ Licking his lips, the boy managed a smile for Rick. ‘How is your leg?’

‘It hurts, but not as much as before. Thank you for bandaging it for me.’

'You’re welcome, my brother. So, any ideas for future escape attempts?'

'Escape is going to be difficult with both of us having injured legs, a detail which I'm sure is not lost on our friends. If we had some way to create a diversion instead of having to fight them directly, it would improve our odds a great deal. Or if we had someone on the inside like we did with the red guards,' Rick said, mind furiously working to come up with something. 'How can we cause a diversion when we're trapped inside this cell?'

'Well, my powers work a little bit here, but I don't want to exhaust myself too much. I'm going to be paying for slamming the NID man against the wall and melting his gun soon.'

'Thanks for saving my life again, buddy,' Rick smiled in gratitude at that. 'You do that a lot,' he mused. 'We are both going to need to get a good deal of rest. Our magic may be the only advantage we have with these guys and using it on them might be our greatest opportunity to escape.'

Ardeth nodded, slowly moving his arms to check for injuries worse than bruises. 'Yes. For now, we will probably just have to at least pretend to cooperate.'

Rick nodded in agreement. There wasn't much they could do while they were trapped in this building like this. Rick leaned against the wall, keeping close to Ardeth to try and provide warmth for his brother and comfort of presence. In the past, just knowing that the other was there helped them to get through even the most difficult times.

'I suggest we try to get some rest. Who knows what they have planned for us next.'

As they both settled in, Rick prayed that help would come soon or that an opportunity would reveal itself.

Exhausted from all the events of the day, Ardeth fell asleep almost immediately. He looked much younger than normal when he slept.

Rick watched over him for a while, unable to go to sleep at first. He kept trying to figure out a way to get out of this place. But as long as they were holed up in this building, he couldn't see very many possibilities. Finally giving into exhaustion, he joined Ardeth in sleep.

Not long after Rick had fallen asleep, a loud buzzer sounded, startling both boys awake. Ardeth sat up, flailing around, trying to find his scimitar.

'What was that?' Rick asked as he looked back and forth confused, then sucking in a breath harshly as he jarred his leg. 'It isn't the stargate,’ he said between clenched teeth.

The NID agent opened the door to smirk in at them. "No sleeping, boys. You don't get to sleep at all until you give us some answers."

Rick glared angrily at the man. "Come over here and I'll give you some answers. But I can guarantee you won't like 'em!"

The man's smirk disappeared. "We'll see if you still have that attitude after a few days of no sleep, no food and no water!"

Rick's mouth snapped shut. He was furious with the man but he didn't want him to end up penalizing Ardeth for his own temper.

After waiting a minute to see if either of the boys was going to say anything else, the man left. Ardeth scooted back so he could lean against the wall and stretch his legs out. "This could be interesting."

Rick scoffed ruefully. “It isn't the smartest idea he's had. He obviously hasn't seen how grouchy I can be in the mornings.”

"Well, he's the one that must suffer for this decision," Ardeth said, practically, then switched to their bond. 'So, what would you like me to tell you about?'

Rick brought himself to focus on Ardeth’s words, because at that moment the only thing he could think of was how much he wanted to get his hands on that agent. He looked at his brother. They both desperately needed sleep, but since they knew their captors wouldn’t let them have it, Ardeth was offering to set his fatigue aside to help keep Rick distracted from the unpleasant nature of their current situation. Ever since Rick had discovered that he was a Med-jai, he was constantly asking his brother questions about their tribes, their past, and the ancient legends of the sites they protected. His curiosity on the subject seemed unending. He wondered at that moment if his brother knew how much he had come to depend on him or how much he appreciated him. He sighed for a moment and leaned back. ‘Tell me about how the tribes came to build Kiriyah Gan,’ he thought at length.

‘There are many different legends about that—the one that seems to be the most likely is that the first king of the Med-jai realized what a burden had been placed on our people,’ Ardeth’s mind-voice had taken on the rhythmic chanting quality of a practiced storyteller. ‘He knew that guarding the Creature and all of the other ancient evils would drain the warriors until they had nothing left to give, and then they would fail. He immediately gathered ten of the most skilled scouts from each of the twelve tribes, and sent them across the desert. He told them to seek out a hidden place where all of the Med-jai could live in safety and peace, where they could recover from the rigors of their duty. Of the scouts, only five returned—the desert itself is unforgiving, and great unrest filled the land because the Hom-dai had been performed. Of the five, four had found nowhere that would suffice for all the tribes, just a few small places where one tribe could gather. But the last scout, the son of the king, he had found a hidden oasis, in a valley surrounded by high, almost impenetrable mountains. His hawk had shown him the way in, and he was able to lead the tribes to this valley. And so the tribes began to build, embracing the natural beauties found in the land, and they called this refuge Kiriyah Gan.’

Rick's heavy lids drooped as he listened to the calming sound of his brother's voice. He could easily picture Ardeth and Horus being the ones who found Kiriyah Gan.

Ardeth's chuckle woke Rick back up. 'Come, my brother, you need to learn to sleep with your eyes open!'

Rick chuckled, thinking his brother was joking. ‘Yeah, that would be a nice tool right now, wouldn't it?’

'I'm not very good at it, but my father excels at it. It made it very disturbing to try to prank him when I was little.'

Rick looked at Ardeth seeing that he wasn't kidding and nodded, listening to Ardeth's instructions as he was trying desperately to stay coherent enough for the lesson to stick.

After Ardeth finished explaining it to Rick, he encouraged him to try it out, scooting forward a little so that he could make certain Rick was doing it right.

It took Rick a little while to get the hang of it. But once he did, he smiled and looked at his brother. 'Yeah, we’ll see how well the jerk's sleep deprivation plan works now!'

'Sleep, my brother. We'll take turns sleeping so that we can watch out for our enemies.' Ardeth told Rick, leaning back against the wall himself.

Rick nodded and leaned his head against the wall as well. His eyes remained open, but he was fast into a waking sleep, resting until Ardeth would wake him for his turn to keep watch.

Ardeth let Rick sleep for several hours. Their behavior no doubt confused their captors, which the boy took great delight in. Finally, he caught himself dozing off, so he gently nudged Rick's mind.

Rick's eyes focused instantly and looked over at Ardeth to see if he was alright. He smiled at him. 'Go ahead and rest now,' he spoke through their bond.

'Move around occasionally and pretend to whisper to me. They're watching us somehow, and it's better to keep our method of sleeping a secret for now,' Ardeth advised, hiding a yawn.

"Okay," Rick went ahead and said aloud quietly, then through their bond again. 'Rest well, Ardeth.'

It didn't take long for Ardeth to drift off. He slept quietly, his body using the desperately needed sleep to replenish his energy levels a little.

After five hours or so, Rick heard the locking mechanism on the door. 'Ardeth,' he called through their bond. ‘He's back.' His muscles tightened with misgivings. He crouched protectively in front of Ardeth as best he could considering his hands and feet were bound.

Ardeth sat upright, blinking rapidly, wincing as his stiff muscles protested the sudden movement. 'This will be an adventure,' he thought wryly. 'He's probably coming in here to eat food in front of us.'

'Well, I'm not sure he'd survive that encounter,' Rick thought back, though truthfully he hoped that was all it would be. But his blood ran cold as the man walked in carrying a chain among other things. The NID agent took great delight in watching the boy's reactions as he laid several cruel looking instruments across the table.

'Oh, curses! Well, this won't be much fun,' Ardeth murmured, keeping his face impassive as he watched the man.

'No, it won't,' Rick replied with dread as he eyed the man, pretending to be indifferent. Once the man was done displaying his devices across the table, he nodded at the guards at the door. Eight men filed into the room as the agent took up the chain. It clanked ominously as he dragged a chair over and sat in front of the boys, allowing the length to dangle in their line of sight.

"Now that you gentlemen have had some time to realize how useless it is to resist us, I'm going to ask you again: What is your connection with the goa'uld?"

"Are you that slow of learning that I have to repeat myself again?" Ardeth demanded, letting his disdain show.

"Then what is it you are hiding?" he asked, his eyes cold and unrelenting. He leaned in to fix both of them with his gaze. "I don't know what it is, but I can promise you this: I will find this information if I have to rip it from your rotting flesh."

Ardeth met the man's eyes firmly. “You are seeking information we do not have. You will receive nothing from us."

The man leaned back in the chair unmoving for a second before the chain flew through the air and struck the prince. The links coiled painfully around him, pinching the exposed skin it came into contact with and leaving welts across his back. Rick threw himself at the man, landing on the floor at his feet but biting into his ankle with all the strength that he had since he was close enough.

Shouting in pain, the man leapt to his feet, kicking Rick hard. The guards scrambled forward and grabbed him, pulling him up by his clothing and slamming him against the wall. The agent glared at O’Connell, face flushed with anger. "Big mistake, boy!"

Having drawn blood when he had bit him, Rick spat the man's blood back in his face. The man wrapped the chain around his fist and punched him with it. Rick’s head was driven back against the wall, dazing him badly. The guards released him and he fell to the floor as the man let the chain fall out to its full length and then began to thrash him mercilessly with it.

Two of the other guards had to move quickly to grab Ardeth before he lunged at the agent himself. He struggled against them, sending strength and encouragement through the bond, drawing as much of the pain away from Rick as he could.

Rick couldn't close the bond between them to spare Ardeth the pain because he didn't know how yet. He had drawn the man's attention from his brother and right now that was enough. He held in the groans of pain as his enraged assailant landed blow after blow. He curled into a ball trying to protect himself as much as possible. By the time the agent had sufficiently vented his frustration, Rick could hardly move.

Ardeth was spitting all the insulting phrases he could think of in every language he knew at the man, absolutely furious.

"Now, where were we?" the agent's voice was sinister as he turned to Ardeth. He moved over to the table to pull out a syringe with a strange looking liquid inside. He had noted from the security footage and from the testimony of the doctor that examined them that the boy had a strong aversion to needles. He held it menacingly as he moved over to where the guards held Ardeth.

Rick opened his eyes. It took a moment for his vision to clear up enough to see what the NID agent was holding, but once he saw the needle, he began weakly trying to pull himself over. The guards over him laughed and stomped on his back where most of the welts were forming. His breath came out in ragged gasps. Despite the pain, he tried in vain to fight his way over to Ardeth.

'Hold still, Rick, please!' Ardeth whispered through the bond. 'I will be fine. Conserve your strength—you'll need it for when we get out of here.'

Rick bowed his head in grief. He couldn't just let them torture his brother, but he knew that he wasn't strong enough to protect him. He cursed himself for his weakness. 'I will under one condition,’ he said only briefly making eye contact with Ardeth. He didn't want their enemies to know the abilities they had. 'Don't shut me out this time. Please!' he begged him

The younger boy hesitated for a long minute, then finally nodded. 'All right. But if it gets too bad, let me know, and I will close it off.'

Rick agreed, watching helplessly as the agent advanced on his brother. The man looked at Ardeth strangely when he nodded. His suspicions roused, he decided he would have to watch these two very carefully to see what that was all about. He held the syringe between him and the boy. "Do you know what this is?"

"I'm assuming it's something meant to torture me," the boy said, letting the two guards pinning him support his weight.

The man's eyes narrowed at his statement. "Intelligent boy,” he congratulated mockingly. “This serum is an experimental toxin designed to disrupt your neural functions and inflame your digestive system. It causes your sensory perceptions to shut down randomly while at the same time making you deathly ill. It has yet to be tested in the field. You should feel privileged. You are providing a great service to your world." He injected it into the boy's neck as the guards held him steady.

Ardeth closed his eyes and braced himself, relaxing as best as he could to slow the poison down. Slowly, he started trying to remember the phrases to help deal with poison.

The man pulled the needle out of Ardeth's neck with a smug smile. "Glad to see that at least this time you took it like a man.” Rick jerked under the guard's hold, furious at the agent for insulting his brother like that. The man only smiled down at Rick, enjoying his weakened condition. He placed the empty syringe on the table and picked up the one that had been laying next to it, holding it aloft for Ardeth to see. "You can save yourself the trauma of going through the effects that you can already feel taking hold of your body. This is the antidote, and I will give it to you if you tell me what I want to know."

The boy rolled his eyes. "I doubt you'll allow me to die. After all, I'm sure your superiors would be most displeased with you if you killed me without getting any information."

The man laughed, almost a pleasant sound and all the more eerie because of it. "This poison won't kill you, but I can guarantee that by the time it plays out, you'll wish that it had." Seeing that the boy was unwilling to cooperate, he shrugged and packed up his toys, dragging the bloodied chain behind him, leaving a crimson trail on the floor as he exited the cell. He stopped in the doorway, meeting the prince's eyes with his amused gaze. "We'll be back after they've had a chance to clean up the mess." The guards released their grip on the boys and walked out the door behind the agent.


	17. Chapter 17

As soon as the men let go of him, Ardeth slumped to the floor, shaking. 'How badly are you hurt, Rick?' he whispered through their bond.

‘Still here,’ Rick ground out, trying to be brave. His body was in agony as bruises layered over bruises were distributed all over him. His face was bloody and one of his eyes was already swollen shut. He looked over at Ardeth though, pressing back the ache that threatened to overwhelm him. Focusing on helping his brother helped him to suppress the angry signals his muscles were sending him. ‘Are you going to be alright?’ he whispered weakly through their bond, concerned about how bad the poison seemed to be from the agent's description.

'I'll survive. I think I remember a few of the phrases that can be used to deal with poison.'

'Good,' Rick breathed a sigh of relief as he tried to get his battered muscles to relax. 'At least there's that.' He growled as he thought of the vile man that had done this to them. 'I almost wanna take him to Ahm Khalud and feed him to the scarabs personally.'

'This man definitely needs to realize that torture is not the way to get information. I'm going to start working on neutralizing the poison, so I won't be able to talk for a few minutes.'

Rick nodded and let Ardeth work. He let his eyes fall shut and breathed carefully, trying to get his stomach under control. The beginnings of heavy bruising were already surfacing on the right side of his face, the colors darker where the chain links had landed upon the agent’s initial blow.

After several minutes, Ardeth's energy was very low, but he had neutralized most of the poison, and snuck in a few healing spells on Rick.

Rick felt the ache ease a good deal and knew what Ardeth had done. He looked up and smiled at his brother. ‘Thanks, buddy.’

‘You are welcome, my friend. I need to rest some—will you be able to keep watch for a little while?’

‘Now I can,’ he said smiling at Ardeth. ‘If he comes in, I’ll bite his leg again.’ Rick grimaced. ‘Man, he tastes nasty though.’ The boy chuckled ruefully, then groaned at the pain it brought.

Ardeth curled up on the floor as best as he could, shivering lightly from the effects of the poison that he hadn’t managed to eliminate from his system. He hid a smirk—the NID man was certain to be very confused about his poison not working. Hopefully he would assume that the drug itself was a dud, or that something had gotten mixed up.

Rick tried to find a comfortable position, propping himself on his arms which were about the only uninjured part of him left, though he was only able to do as much due to Ardeth's healing him. He scooted back to lean back against the wall. But as his injured back made contact with the rough concrete, he decided against it and lay back down on the floor. He kept his eyes open with apprehension praying that the agent would have no cause to return for a long time. As Ardeth slept, he also watched him closely, watching for signs that the poison might be progressing and was glad to see that its effects were minimal. He let Ardeth sleep for several hours and was loathed to wake him, but he couldn't tell when the madman torturing them would return. He gently reached out through their bond. ‘Ardeth.’

Startling awake, the boy sighed and yawned, much recovered after his rest. 'How are you doing, my brother?'

'I've been better, but then again I've been worse too,' he said flashing one of his usual cocky grins. He stopped though to cover a wince that rose from the way the smile pulled at the bruised portions of his face. Then he sighed, becoming serious, 'I'll heal, but I'm going to be very glad when this numbskull gets it through his head that he can't get anything from us and we're safely home.'

'I know the feeling, my brother,' Ardeth murmured, sitting up a little, stretching as best as he could. 'Why don't you try to sleep some?'

'Thanks,' Rick said nodding as he settled back some, his eyes losing their focus. He placed his hand over Ardeth's forearm so that he would easily waken if Ardeth needed him for anything.

Using the physical contact to strengthen the bond, Ardeth started adding layers to their bond so that they would always be able to find each other, even when it was shut down.

Rick shifted slightly, sensing the strength of their connection, his muscles relaxing a bit more.

Soon, the NID agent returned with his troop of guards. As he entered the room, his eyes took in the boys and he was first shocked then frustrated and angry to see that the poison had not had an effect on the Med-jai prince.

Ardeth nudged Rick through the bond, warning him of their visitors. "As you can see, your trick with the needle didn't work—I didn't do your work for you just by being injected by some mysterious liquid you claim is poison."

Rick held back his laughter. No matter what argument the agent took to that, it would only imply his own incompetence.

The man came closer, his steps very deliberate, and he picked the boy up off the floor and held him at eye level. "Well, I won't make that mistake again, I promise you." His eyes glinted dangerously as a smile spread across his face.

Rick fearing for his brother tried to bite the man again, but before he could reach him, received a sharp kick in the ribs in a particularly injured area, the agent knowing just where to strike him.

Ardeth immediately cast a low-level healing spell on Rick, hoping to prevent any internal injuries. He glared around at the guards, the power of his unfettered royalty physically forcing them back several steps.

The agent glared back at Ardeth, unsettled by how much power this boy seemed to wield even when he was their captive. He had to take this whelp down a notch or two. He threw him harshly to the floor close to the guards. "Take him to another cell," he ordered them.

Rick's face drained of color, and he struggled to rise to crawl across the room. But the agent planted his foot squarely in the middle of his back, forcing him roughly down to the floor, all of Rick’s struggling in vain. 'Ardeth,' he called out to his brother, fearing what they might do to him.

'I will be fine, Rick. Be calm, my brother. We have the bond.'

Rick watched, jaw clenched as the guards dragged Ardeth from the cell. The man standing over him picked Rick up and sneered in his face. “I'll be back to deal with you later, after I take care of your brother."

"If you so much as touch him, I swear to you I will kill you!" Rick promised him, fixing the man with a smoldering glare of hatred.

The man seemed amused by this, looking Rick up and down taking into account his battered state and scoffing at what he saw as an idle threat. "Please, you couldn't even protect yourself. What makes you think you could save him?" Rick growled at the man, about to say something, but the man threw him to the floor, the pain winding him for a moment. As the man strode from the room, he called back to Rick over his shoulder. "Don't worry, your brother will still be close enough for you to hear his screams of pain." With that he slammed the door shut, plunging Rick into darkness. The boy clung to the bond between him and Ardeth, the only thing he could take comfort from while they were trapped in this living nightmare. 'Ardeth, I'm here for you,' Rick whispered weakly, sending as much strength as possible through their connection. Even if he couldn't protect his brother, he could at least do this for him.

In return, he felt a tug on the bond and found himself standing on the balcony of Ardeth's room, facing the other boy. Ardeth looked relieved to see him. 'Oh, good, it worked.'

Rick looked at his brother, wide-eyed. 'Ardeth?' he blinked in confusion. 'What happened? Are you alright?' He couldn't work up the courage to ask 'Are we dead?'.

Ardeth laughed. 'We're both fine. I just managed to strengthen the bond enough to pull us both through into a place where we can talk face-to-face.'

Rick nodded taking it in for a second. 'How long can we do this?' he asked.

'Only for a few minutes. It will take you a lot of time to get used to it here—in our minds, we don't have to be injured. But it's also good to become used to keeping an eye on your surroundings. I'll have to go in a second, once they start asking me questions.'

Rick nodded. He fought a sick feeling that was rising into his stomach. His only thought was to protect his brother and now that they were being interrogated in separate cells, he couldn't do that. He knew that Ardeth was strong and in most instances was more than capable of looking after himself, but he still felt this need to fight beside him, to save him. It was an instinct that he couldn't suppress. He looked at his brother the pain of helplessness evident in his eyes.

Stepping forward, Ardeth grasped Rick in a firm hug. 'My brother, I know you want to protect me, but in this case, you cannot. I need you to be strong for me when I am close to breaking.'

Rick embraced his brother back. 'I will, I swear it!’ he vowed. ‘I am here for you, no matter what!'

'I have to go now—I'll show you the way back to your mind. If you're alone in the cell, practice returning here.' Ardeth told him.

Rick nodded and followed Ardeth's leading back to his mind, gasping as the reality of the damp, dark cell came rushing back at him. He carefully leaned back against the wall, ignoring the pain it brought him and stretched out with all of his senses, focusing all the energy he had on reaching out to support Ardeth.

Meanwhile back in the cell, the agent loomed over Ardeth who seemed not to be paying any attention to him at all. He grabbed Ardeth's chin in his hands forcing the boy to meet his eyes. "While the poison may have failed to affect you I have many other devices that are tried and true. You will feel their full effects," he promised the boy.

After a moment, Ardeth's eyes snapped into focus and he raised an eyebrow at the man. "Do you truly think I have not been taught in how to deal with torture?"

The man smiled condescendingly. "The mind and body can only handle so much, even when you have trained for such things. Your resistance up to this point has been commendable, even impressive. But everyone has a breaking point. And after all, you are only a boy. Your attack dog cannot guard you now, and he will suffer the same as you. We have our ways. Whether you give me the information now or whether we have to dig it from the shards of your shattered mind, we will get what we want." There seemed to be a secret knowledge that fueled his arrogance, his overconfidence, a dark secret that danced in the back of his eyes.

The boy's eyes narrowed as he studied the man in front of him. "We will see what happens," the boy finally said, wrenching his chin out of the man's hand.

"Yes, we will," he said as he stood and moved over to the table. Apparently, his torture devices had been prepared and laid out for him before Ardeth had been brought. He lifted a knife. It looked quite similar to the ones Jack and his team had carried. He dipped it in what appeared to be water, but the evil grin the man wore as he neared Ardeth with it told him otherwise. "You know you have succeeded in one thing. I do believe that you are not in league with the goa'uld. A religious zealot wouldn't deny it and even if you were allies you would not have endured this much pain for them when they are such a treacherous race themselves."

The boy rolled his eyes. "And so you continue torturing me just to satisfy your sadistic streak. Wonderful."

"No," the man said shaking his head and holding the blade in front of Ardeth's face, drops of whatever substance coated the blade falling to the floor. "You see just because I no longer suspect you to be allies of our enemy doesn't mean that you are our allies or have our best interests at heart. You're still concealing something, I can feel it. I don't know what it is, but it's big, and I intend to find out. What is this Hamunaptra you and your friend spoke of in your room?"

"Hamunaptra is the name used to scare small children into obedience." Ardeth told him, voice firm.

"Wrong answer," the man said calmly as he plunged the knife into Ardeth's bicep cutting into one of the newly healing scars from the unas at Ahm Khalud. Apparently the solution he dipped the knife in was acidic in nature, adding to the pain the knife brought on its own a burning, searing sensation that spread way beyond the immediate area of the wound.

Ardeth caught his breath and held it, biting the inside of his lip as he fought to deal with the pain. The boy watched in morbid fascination as the man twisted the knife as he pulled it out, choking back a cry of pain.

The agent waved the blade gesturing as if nothing had happened, still immersed deep in thought. As the man flung it this way and that, the prince could see drops of his own blood mingled with the solution flying this way and that, splattering noiselessly where they landed. "You may have somehow destroyed the tape, and I know it was you, but I listened to the whole thing before we even came to take you into custody. From the way you and O'Connell were talking, it was obviously a secret of the greatest importance."

"And if you believe that, then why ask me to tell you about it?" Ardeth's voice wasn't quite as steady as he would have liked, so the boy immediately decided that he would try the opposite method—pretend to be giving in.

“Yes, but knowing that something is important is useless unless you have certain details such as why it is important, what it is, where it is. We know that you have these details and are willing to do whatever it takes to find our answers. Now from the references in the legends and the way you and O’Connell spoke of Hamunaptra, it would be logical to conclude that it is a location, possibly a city of sorts. But then that begs the question: where is it and what is there that demands such secrecy?”

"I cannot tell you that," Ardeth told him, dropping his eyes just slightly, like he was getting desperate.

The man's only response was to reinsert the blade into his arm right next to the first wound he had opened, and with a cruel indifference, he pulled the knife down towards his elbow, tearing the muscles in the boy's arm mercilessly.

This time, Ardeth couldn't contain his cry of pain. He quickly lowered his head and reached through the bond, reassuring Rick that he was fine, and had just been caught by surprise.

Rick sent strength and comfort his way, pained that it was all he could do but willing to do it till his last breath. The man's voice brought the prince back to his cell. "You will tell us, Bay," he assured him softly as if comforting him. "You will." He withdrew the knife and dipped it into the solution again before drawing it across the prince's cheek.

Ardeth spat in the man's face before purposely spouting off a series of insults in several different languages, hoping to distract the man.

The man, enraged, maintained the illusion of calm, wiping the spit from his face before he looked down at Ardeth's injured leg. He knelt, unwrapping the strip of cloth Rick had tied it off with, almost as if to examine it. "There doesn't seem to be an exit wound," he observed, raising his eyes to meet the boy's as his knife hovered over the gunshot wound.

The boy's eyes widened as he realized what the man intended to do, and he tried to twist away, surprising the two guards who were holding him.

The guards held Ardeth down as best they could. The boy suddenly had a great well of strength that everything he had been through up until this point should have already drained from him. After a while they had to have three or four more come over to help them pin him down. The agent coated the blade again with a generous layer of the solution. As he held the knife over the open wound, a drop or two dripped into the raw angry flesh. "What is at Hamunaptra?" he asked giving the boy one last chance.

"It is protected from people like you!" Ardeth spat, breathing hard.

The man's eyes narrowed. Wrong answer, he thought and he thrust the knife down into the gunshot wound and began to dig for the bullet that had broken Ardeth’s femur.

Crying out, the boy closed his eyes tightly, grasping onto the bond with all of his strength. His fists were clenched so hard that his nails were biting into the palms of his hands, but he barely felt it over the pulsating pain from what the man was doing.

Rick cringed as he felt the pain that his brother was going through. He sent every ounce of strength and comfort through the bond to help Ardeth, holding onto his brother, desperate to distract him from the pain. ‘Hang on, brother,’ he whispered.

It seemed to go on forever before the man was finished digging the bullet out of his leg. The man watched the boy, shaking his head. Nothing, the boy had told him nothing. He would have to give him a break or he would burn out too fast. He was disgusted with how little progress they were making. Soon, they would have no choice but to use the Tok'ra memory device on the boys. But he rose taking the knife and the solution with him. There was another informant to question. "We'll see if O'Connell has anything to say."

As one of the guards started wrapping a bandage around Ardeth's leg so that the boy wouldn't bleed to death, Ardeth fled to the safety of the room in their bond. 'Rick? He's coming for you now.'

Rick oddly enough breathed a sigh of relief, glad to know at least that Ardeth would have some time to recover. 'How are you holding out?’ He had been holding his breath since the wave of pain had stopped flowing from his brother, waiting, uncertain if the prince was even conscious any more; and Rick was glad to hear Ardeth’s thoughts touch his mind again.

'He was closer to breaking me than he knew,' Ardeth admitted quietly, utterly spent now. 'I will help you as best as I can, my brother, but there is little I can do. I am sorry.'

'That's alright,' Rick said, an understanding smile on his face. 'Rest and regain your strength, brother. You are safe now, and that is all that matters to me.' Rick heard footsteps approaching his cell. 'He's coming. I have to go.'

'Be safe, Rick,' Ardeth whispered, letting go of the bond and barely clinging to the edge of consciousness.

'You too, Ardeth,' Rick breathed as the door in his cell opened. His eyes came into focus again just as the man entered the room.


	18. Chapter 18

The agent smirked at him, laying a few things on the table. He didn't come near Rick yet, though, since there weren't any guards there to hold the boy down. "Did you enjoy your reprieve, boy, listening to your brother scream for me?"

Rick's jaw tightened. "I hold true to my promises," Rick reminded him calling the man by the worst name he could think of. "Your days are numbered." But then it was Rick's turn to smile haughtily. "My brother is stronger than you anticipated, isn't he? You weren't able to get anything out of him, were you?"

The man scowled for just a second before recovering himself and smirking. "He may have been able to hold his tongue for now, but very soon he will not be able to. There is a limit to how much your body can take. Would you like to know what I did to your brother?"

Rick’s muscles tensed and he glared at the man, wanting to incinerate him on the spot. “You don’t talk about my brother. You are slime! You are nothing! You are not even worthy to speak his name!” And to think that we have to protect scumbags like you from Hamunaptra, Rick’s mind raged. If it were within his capacity he would feed him to the Creature right now.

At that reaction, the agent smiled a little. “I used a special acid on the blade of a knife—it causes very little damage, but ignites all of the pain receptors wherever it is used.” While the man described what he had done, in excruciating detail, he let the guards pin Rick down, then removed the boy’s shirt.

Rick's eyes blazed as he struggled against the guards with every ounce of strength he had left, yelling all the while. He would rip him into pieces so small that the scarabs wouldn't be able to find his remains once Rick got through with him! "You are a coward! You hide behind your guards and your torture devices because you know you wouldn't last five seconds against him! My brother is stronger than you could ever be!"

"You know nothing about me!" the man snapped, then quickly regained control of his temper. He pulled a metal stick off of the table—the end had a strange pattern on it, and was glowing red-hot.

Rick regarded the glowing end of the rod, still seething in anger. He was terrified at the pain he knew he was about to feel, but he lifted his chin defiantly, his face set in grim determination. He couldn't give in to this man. He would not, no matter the cost.

"I'm afraid I made a bit of a mess of your brother's arm, but that should heal up fine in a few weeks. And I decided to be merciful—I got that bullet out of his leg for him," The agent continued, letting the hot metal brush lightly across Rick's bare skin, letting him feel just how hot it was.

At the man's words, Rick’s eyes widened for a moment in horror then narrowed, all the hatred he felt for this man showing through in their depths. The fear that had begun to take hold from the sight of the brand was gone, burning in the fires that pulsed through his veins, threatening to consume him. He jerked at the guards almost becoming too much for the two men alone to handle, cursing the man with the foulest language he knew. "I’ll take that knife and carve your own heart out with it! I'll gut you alive!"

The man tsked at him, even as he beckoned two more guards to come help hold Rick down. "Such thoughts and language, boy!"

"You have that effect on the people cursed enough to have to look at you. Ardeth is more of a man than you ever could be. You wouldn't have the stomach to withstand yourself what you've put him through! You haven't triumphed over him, he's triumphed over you! We both have! We'll never give in to you!" Rick spat at the man.

"We will see about that!" The man pushed the brand hard against Rick's shoulder, and the guards had to look away.

Rick's breathing quickened even more than it already had in his rage. He clenched his teeth, desperately trying to keep the pain inside. His back and shoulders were already greatly wounded from the chain the agent had beaten him with, and he groaned mournfully as he tried to cringe away from the red-hot metal. After a couple of seconds of prolonged exposure to the brand, his groan broke out in a harsh wail as his skin permanently took on the shape at the end of the rod.

After a minute, the man pulled the metal away, leaving a symbol burned onto the boy's shoulder. "I hope you realize that for every time one of you refuses to give me answers, I will punish the other,"

Rick's breath came in ragged gasps as he emitted a chuckle that sounded more like a cough. "Yet another example of your cowardice."

"Are you certain that it isn't you who is the coward? After all, by refusing to give me answers, you are condemning your brother to torture."

Rick hung his head, his heart hammering in his chest. Sweat poured off his body from the physical exertion and the emotional stress. "I would die for him, but we are braver for standing firm. We will not endanger the world to save each other," he breathed as he blinked back tears refusing to let this man see how much he was torn by this.

'Rick? What's wrong?' Ardeth's voice whispered in the older boy's mind, as he sensed Rick's distress.

"He's trying to get to me. I think his patience with us is wearing thin," Rick replied though faintly. 'Threatening to torture you if I don't give him his answers then calling me a coward for condemning you to suffer. He's not holding anything back that's for sure.' he breathed weakly. He was shaking from the combination of rage, fear, and pain, unable to quiet his mind or his heart.

'Be strong, my brother.' Ardeth encouraged him, sufficiently recovered to begin trying to protect Rick again.

'I will, I promise,' Rick said. He hardened his resolve, taking deep breaths to try and steel himself. His eyes flashed open and fixed on the agent's. The hatred was still there but it was clear that he wouldn't give him anything.

Sighing in disappointment, the man backed away, then suddenly lunged forward and planted the brand against Rick's other shoulder. "A little something to think about while I go visit your brother again!"

He couldn't hold in the pain at all this time, crying out as the hot metal seared his skin. The room spun dangerously around him and his stomach was starting to rebel by the time the man pulled the brand away. His breath hitched in his chest and his head bounced jarringly against the concrete floor where the guards had dropped him. The contrast between the cold wet floor and the heat of the brand wounds still fresh in his skin made his entire upper body ache. 'He's coming, Ardeth,' he warned his brother, unable to even move from his position sprawled out on the floor.

"Alright. Rest, my brother." Ardeth told him, then turned his attention back to the room he was in.

Rick didn't know if that was possible for him knowing he had brought this upon Ardeth, but tried to agree, knowing he couldn't help his brother in any case unless he had recovered some of his strength. ‘Be safe, Ardeth.’

Meanwhile, the man stepped into Ardeth's cell, trying to gauge how much the prince had recovered and how much further he could push him now. "Your brother is much more talkative than you by far," he remarked with an evil grin.

Ardeth raised an eyebrow at that, amused. So the man intended to try to convince them that the other was talking. "I'm sure you heard a great many interesting things regarding your ancestry."

"You've got it. That brother of yours has a foul mouth. It's a wonder you don't put him on a leash," the man commented. "So easily provoked and so incredibly weak," The man turned to the table, picking up a device that looked like a flat circular push pin in one hand and a syringe in the other. While the guards held Ardeth down, he walked over to the boy, wondering if the same technique he had used on O'Connell would work on Bay. "And that was before I began to brand him with hot irons," he said pointedly, watching carefully for the prince's reaction.

The boy's eyes narrowed slightly. "Do you have a family?" he demanded, pushing as much comfort and healing through the bond as he could.

After considering a moment, the man nodded. "You may think me so, but I'm not as much of a monster as you think. And I will do anything to ensure their safety."

"For your family's sake, I will refrain from cursing you this once. But understand, if you hurt my brother again, I will curse you, and no force will be able to stop this curse." Ardeth told him, eyes reflecting the man's image back to himself.

The man scoffed, amused at the threat. "Get in line; your brother has already made his pathetic claim on my blood. This may come as a surprise to you," he said kneeling beside the boy and injecting him with the truth serum and then pushing the Tok'ra memory device into Ardeth's temple, "but your magical powers don't frighten me, boy. I'm not afraid of either of you, and no weak threat you make on my life can save you from your own folly." He moved over and pulled up a chair and sat comfortably in it while he waited a few minutes for the drug to take effect. "Take your brother for example. He was stubborn and…” he shrugged, “well, you can imagine the effect a brand would have when pressed against human flesh, especially around his neck. How the skin sizzles and melts slightly with a pain almost beyond comprehension. You should have heard how he was whimpering."

Ardeth's mind immediately flashed to reach out through the bond to Rick. He meant to ask mentally, but with the drug lowering his defenses, he ended up speaking both in his mind and out loud, although he wasn't really aware of speaking out loud. "Rick, how badly are you hurt?"

Rick was barely conscious, Ardeth's words pulling him somewhat back. 'I'm okay,' Rick murmured still out of breath from his encounter with the agent. ‘Are you alright?’

The agent smiled glad to see that the drugs were taking effect so quickly. "He can't hear you," he commented. Nodding to one of the men to turn on the viewer attached to the memory device, he leaned forward taking Ardeth's throat in his grasp, trying to force the boy's eyes to meet his own. "Now where is Hamunaptra?" he demanded.

Starting to panic as he felt the drugs eating away at his control, the boy stubbornly fought for several long minutes before sighing. "In the desert." He finally ground out, remembering the desert with longing.

The man looked at the viewer but only saw a non-descript mesa ruins surrounded by a sea of sand. Hamunaptra, he guessed, but still that didn’t really answer his question. He sighed slightly bowing his head, thinking he should probably be grateful they were making some headway. He raised his eyes again and asked commandingly. “Which desert? Where in that desert?”

Rick sensing Ardeth’s confusion, sat up a little more in his cell, though the action was excruciating and tugged at his freshly burned skin. ‘Ardeth? Ardeth, what’s going on? Are you alright?’

‘Rick, they’re messing with my mind—I think he gave me some drug that is forcing me to tell the truth. They want to know where Hamunaptra is,’ Ardeth whispered, again speaking both through the bond and out loud. “The forbidden place is in the desert farthest away from home, five days’ journey east following the compass.”

Rick sat up panicking, no knowing what to do. He thought that Ardeth was only speaking through their bond so he tried to send him strength and encouragement. 'Just don't say anything else. They can't get you to reveal something you shouldn't if you don't speak.'

The agent was grinning in triumph. Almost there, he thought, watching the viewscreen and noticing the image of the compass tattoo on Ardeth's hand that he used to travel by. "Now where is 'home?'" They couldn't travel to Hamunaptra unless they knew where the starting point was.

At that, Ardeth's mind immediately flashed to his balcony and the view of Kiriyah Gan from there. Listening to Rick, he closed his mouth and refused to speak, fighting the drugs hard.

The man's eyes widened. Ardeth didn't have to say anything as he looked at the viewscreen to find his answers. Such an oasis in the middle of the desert blew his mind. "How far is it from 'home' to the nearest city?" the man asked trying to find a reference point while adding Kiriyah Gan to his list of intended exploits.

That confused Ardeth some, so he picked the best answer that would be both truthful and confusing. He pictured the marketplace of Kiriyah Gan, since his home was the palace.

After a few minutes, the man recognized that it was still part of the same city, seeing a prominent landmark that had appeared in the previous image. He sighed, becoming frustrated slightly. He wasn't asking the right questions. "What is the nearest city that your tribe does not live in?"

That promptly brought up an image of a very young Ardeth talking with his father. Suleimon was pointing to a map and having Ardeth list if Med-jai were there or not. Finally, the boy settled on most of the American cities not having Med-jai.

The man scrubbed a hand over his face, sighing. He knew it could not be in America from what he had read of the file they had stolen from the SGC. Okay, he thought, maybe that will reveal some information. He walked over to the table and opened the file turning to the copy of the mission report that Col. O'Neill had typed up. He quickly glanced over the summary Jack had given, looking for any prominent names to point him in the right direction. A reference to a city caught his eye. "Cairo!" He stood and walked over to the prince and the viewscreen. "How do you get to Hamunaptra from Cairo?"

That brought flashbacks from when the boys had been kidnapped—the entire trip went by quickly, including the parts where Ardeth had been unconscious or sleeping.

A smile spread across the NID agent's face. "We've got it!" he said in triumph. His eyes drifted cruelly back over to Ardeth. He motioned to the guards who picked him up. "Let's reunite him with his brother, shall we?"

Now Ardeth was truly frightened. "Rick, they read my mind somehow! I didn't say anything, but he knows! He knows how to get to Hamunaptra!"

Rick shook his head trying to think of something. 'We have to stop them somehow. Don't worry, Ardeth. We'll come up with something. Like we did last time.' His head jerked around as the guards flung the door to the cell open and threw the prince to the floor.

The agent cast his eyes at Ardeth and then gave Rick a challenging glance. "So he's stronger than I ever could be, huh? Tell me boy, how strong is your brother now?" Rick tried to rise to his feet, but still bound and with a broken leg, he fell to the floor before he could even stand. The agent shook his head in arrogant triumph. “I suggest you both get some rest gentlemen. We'll be traveling to Hamunaptra tomorrow. Ardeth has told me all that I need to know." He slammed the door, and they heard his footsteps receding into the distance.

Rick crawled over to his brother. 'Ardeth? Are you alright?'

'I betrayed our people! I won't ever be alright again,' the boy whispered through the bond, curling up as best as he could and trying to get the thing off of his temple.

Rick helped Ardeth to pull the Tok'ra device off, shaking his head vigorously. ‘No! You have not betrayed our people! He read your mind! You said so! There was nothing you could do to stop it!'

'But now they know the way to Hamunaptra! If they awaken the Creature, then the world could be destroyed!' Ardeth told him, raising his anguished eyes to meet Rick's.

Rick wrapped his arms around his brother, careful not to put pressure on his injuries. He looked Ardeth in the eye with understanding and assurance. ‘They won't, because we won't let them!’ he said, his statement carrying strength.

Slowly, the younger boy managed to calm himself and sat still in his brother's embrace. 'You are right. I will raise all of the protections if I have to—none of them will be able to set foot in there.'

Rick nodded, sending comfort through the bond, trying to encourage Ardeth. He glanced over his brother's body seeing the injuries the agent had described to him. Pain seared through his own body as his eyes fell on each bloody knife wound, the man's words ringing in his ears. He bowed his head as anger and grief flooded him. He took a scrap of cloth from his shirt lying on the floor to wipe the blood gently from the gouge on Ardeth's arm, careful not to aggravate the raw flesh. He didn’t dare touch his leg yet, because he knew it would cause his brother excruciating pain.

'What is wrong, my brother?' Ardeth asked, sensing the change in Rick's emotions. 'How badly are you hurt?'

'He has injured you greatly,’ Rick ground out, his eyes glistening with unshed tears. ‘He told me what he'd done to you.’ And then Rick's eyes became dark and frightening. ‘He will pay,’ he promised himself.

The younger boy sighed softly and gently pulled back so that he could meet Rick's eyes. 'Do not focus on revenge, my brother. His just reward will come to him. I will heal in time, as will you. However, I think Father is going to keep us home for many years after this little adventure!'

Rick managed a slight smile at this. 'I don't know who we would fear more, your dad or Amir.' he chuckled ruefully. 'We're going to need to get some sleep.' he said as he released his brother from his embrace so they could settle down on the floor. But as he lay on his back he cried out, closing his eyes tightly against the pain that hit him like a brick wall from trying to lie on his back. Idiot! he scolded himself. What were you thinking?? He winced and rolled over onto his side curling up instinctively.

Ardeth's cool hand rested on the back of his neck, one area that wasn't injured, and rubbed soothingly until Rick relaxed some. 'Be still, my brother. Sleep and heal,' Ardeth whispered, using what energy he had left to send Rick deep into a healing sleep. Since the NID agent had what he wanted, Ardeth guessed that they would both be left alone.

Rick's sore muscles that had been wound tight relaxed under his brother's touch. No one bothered the captives as they slept through the night.


	19. Chapter 19

Meanwhile back at Stargate Command, SG-1, Bra'tac, and Jacob were emerging from the stargate, each of them smiling broadly. Hammond met them at the foot of the ramp, his face set in grave lines despite their jovial return. "Well, Colonel, I assume by the looks on your faces that the mission was a success."

"Oh yeah, we kicked Anubis' . . . posterior," Jack said, taking his hat off and shaking it off, eyes watchful.

"Is something wrong here, sir?" Carter asked, surrendering her weapons to one of the SFs in the room.

Hammond nodded grimly. "Ardeth Bay and Rick O'Connell are missing. Follow me." He led them immediately to the briefing room. Once they had all taken a seat, he explained the situation in greater detail. "Last night at the shift change, we found that the boys were missing from their room. The guards that had been watching over them had been knocked unconscious by unauthorized personnel and then locked in the boys’ room so that they couldn't notify base security. As soon as we found out, we did an immediate search of Stargate Command, but the boys had already been taken from the facility. Whoever took them knew our base well enough to avoid the guards and to move during the confusion created when you all left at the start of this mission."

"The NID," Jack’s scowl was fierce. "Well, we need to find those boys and get them back from those idiots!"

"Precisely," Hammond said with a nod. "While you've been gone, our men have been trying to trace them and, as of an hour ago, managed to track them down to an abandoned building in a small compound about fifty miles from here."

Jack nodded. "All right, then, people, let's gear back up and go kick some NID . . . rears."

Everybody immediately rose from the table. Bra'tac and Jacob accompanied SG-1 to gear up. Jacob was going to accompany them, feeling a vested interest in the Med-jai boys' fate and feeling comfortable enough with his experiences on Earth to help them with this mission. But Bra'tac bid them farewell. "I wish I could help you find the young warriors, but I do not know this world well enough to be of assistance. And the rebellion needs my help to stabilize the dangerous situation now that the traitor has been rooted out among us. I wish you all well on your mission and hope that you find them," he explained to Teal'c.

"Thank you, my old friend. I will visit you when next I get the chance," Teal'c answered, clasping Bra'tac's wrist firmly.

"I will look forward to that, Teal'c."

Soon, SG-1 and Jacob were ready to go. They went to the surface dressed in plain clothes with body armor underneath, armed with zats and accompanied by units in full tactical gear. As they rode in the van to the destination indicated by their intel, Daniel shook his head angrily. "They were supposed to be safe at the SGC. How did the NID get to them there?”

"I don't know, Daniel, but we're gonna find out once we've got the boys safely back with us. I'm hoping that the NID give us an excuse to shoot them, though," Jack told the team, with a slight smile.

Teal'c smiled, agreeing with Jack's desire. All of the team did. The time it took to get to the base went by at an agonizingly slow pace, but after an hour, they arrived. Proceeding with caution, they slowly filtered into the building finding an agent here and there standing guard. They easily overwhelmed them and took them into custody. But after they finished sweeping the building, they found they were too late. The boys and most of the rogue NID team were gone along with a good deal of the supplies they kept there. Jack glared at one of the men they had found. "Where are the boys?" he asked irritably.

The man tried to be brave, but after only a few seconds of Jack's glare, he caved in. "Agent Vek took them! They're going to Egypt to find some place called Hamunaptra! That's all I know, I swear!"

"But where in Egypt? Where is Hamunaptra?" Jack pressed him. Egypt was a big country, and he'd never heard of this city.

Daniel's mouth dropped open. "Hamunaptra? But that city is only a legend! Scholars have searched for it for years!" He protested.

Both Jack's and the man's heads whipped around to look at Daniel. "But how are they going to get there if no one can find it?" Jack asked, becoming testy.

"The boy with the strange marks on his face knew the way—Agent Vek got it out of him using the memory device."

"But they must have a reference point. Where are they starting?" Daniel asked.

The man shook his head. "I don't know. I wasn't in the room when they questioned the boy. You might be able to find it out from the security cameras, though."

Jack shoved the man ahead of him, forcing him to lead the way. Once they got into the room, Jack assigned a unit to take the men in custody back to the SGC. As they watched the surveillance tapes, they were horrified to see what the NID agents had put Rick and Ardeth through.

"How can anyone do that to children?" Jonas demanded, wincing as he saw Rick get hit with the chains.

"They don't look at them as children," Jacob spoke quietly, eyes narrowed and face set grimly. "They see them as collateral damage."

Teal'c closed his eyes and shook his head, seeing how each of the boys tried to defend the other and how the NID agents separated them. "Their bond to each other is most strong. The separation must have shaken them greatly.'

The security camera was at just the right angle to catch the screen from the memory device—and also to see the horror on Ardeth's face as he realized that his mind was being read.

Daniel saw the look on his face and leaned forward, pressing the pause button on the console. Ardeth’s expression was somewhat reminiscent of the look he had worn when Daniel had discovered that the book they had found had been the Book of the Dead.

"What is it, Daniel?" Carter asked from her position sitting in front of the console.

"Rewind it for a minute or two, and bring up the audio," he said, voice somewhat distant. Carter did as he asked and when she played it back, Vek's voice came through clearly as he interrogated Ardeth: "Cairo! ... How do you get to Hamunaptra from Cairo?"

Carter paused it again. "Cairo, so that's where they're headed."

"All right. Carter, Daniel, you get the exact directions from Cairo to the Hametep place. T, you and Jonas sweep the rooms on the north side of the building for anything that got left behind. Jacob and I'll take the south."

Carter and Daniel watched the tape through several times, till they were able to discern from the scenes flashing on the viewscreen the route that Vek and his men were taking. Daniel sighed heavily as he watched Ardeth’s face time and time again.

“What is it, Daniel?” Carter asked, sensing something was wrong.

Daniel tilted his head, examining the freeze frame of the prince’s face. “Oh, I was just thinking that I would bet good money that what they found out here was what he and Rick were so terrified that we would find out when we were reading through their books at Ahm Khalud. This is what they think no one should know.”

"They don’t want anyone going to this legendary city? That’s a little unusual. There has to be something more to this Hamunaptra, something we don’t know,” Carter observed, as she finished getting the last of the directions recorded.

"Yeah," Daniel said quietly. "And by the look on Ardeth's face and what I remember of the few legends surrounding this place, it's something really dark." Jack, Jonas, Teal’c, and Jacob finished their reconnaissance and joined Carter and Daniel in the surveillance room. The archaeologist spun around as they entered the room. "Find anything?"

"Just this," Jonas held up the Tok'ra memory device. "There was a lot of blood in those rooms, too—hopefully they gave the boys some medical treatment."

Jacob shut his eyes. It angered him to see his people's own technology used against the very race he had helped to train. Selmak spoke, "The boys’ wills must have been strong for them to resort to our memory recall device." He took the device in his hand, and it seemed almost as if he would crush it in his furious grip.

"You got what you need, Carter?" Jack asked, restlessly adjusting his sunglasses. He wanted some action.

"Yes, sir," she replied nodding and holding up the note pad on which she and Daniel had written the directions. Daniel popped out the tape to take with them in case they for any reason needed to refer back to it.

Jack nodded. "Then let's head out. The clean up crew will finish things up here."

The rest of the team followed him out of the building and quickly made arrangements to travel immediately to Cairo.

Ardeth had to admit that this trip to Hamunaptra was much more pleasant than the last one. However, he was doing everything in his power to make it not happen. Already, the vehicles the NID agent had procured had broken down five times, each one due to a very improbable event. But the boy needed to save his energy to raise the defenses at Hamunaptra, and to keep on feeding healing energy to Rick, so he had been forced to stop that delaying tactic.

Rick was slowly recovering but much more quickly than he would have without Ardeth's help. He and Ardeth were both glad that the NID hadn't figured out they were responsible for the delays on their journey, though it had been hard not to laugh at their confusion and give themselves away. He watched every move that Agent Vek made, careful to stay between him and Ardeth whenever it was possible. He wasn't going to let that man anywhere near his brother again.

'Any ideas on how to stop them?' Ardeth asked through the bond, watching all of the men warily as they changed a tire—this particular accident hadn't been caused directly by the boys—the man’s driving had been so agitated that he hadn't noticed the change in terrain until too late.

'We may not have to,' Rick replied jokingly. 'These idiots have no clue how to travel through the desert.' Then he became serious. 'Are there any sites closer to Hamunaptra that we could divert them to somehow? Since you would know the area, we would have the upper hand and could break away from them there, maybe get our hands on some weapons and take them prisoner.'

The younger boy considered that for a moment. 'There is one protected area that is fairly near to Hamunaptra—that might work.'

Rick sighed in relief, then tilted his head in thought. 'Now the question is, how do we divert them there?'

'They are using their compass for directions, which is very foolish—the Med-jai have warded the entire area so that technology will not work its best here. I think I can influence it just enough so that they start heading just a few degrees in the wrong direction.'

Rick bowed his head to hide his pleased smile from the NID while he quickly composed himself. Until they got to the site Ardeth mentioned, it would be best for them to appear helpless to stop them. Once he raised his eyes again, he had the appropriate look of resignation on his face. 'And when we get there it may be possible that Med-jai forces of the present day could help us.'

'Yes, definitely. Although it will be very confusing for them, as we have no idea what the situation is like for the tribes.' Ardeth leaned back in his seat with a slightly pained sigh as the vehicle lurched into motion again.

Rick grimaced also from the sudden movement and reached over, using his arm to steady his brother as best he could. The older boy was curious about exactly what state the Med-jai were in right now. His Med-jai sense, what he had thought all his life was merely his gut instinct, told him that the road ahead was incredibly dark, so much so that he didn’t think that would change even if they did manage to stop the NID unit from getting to Hamunaptra. His thoughts were interrupted as his stomach growled. He rolled his eyes in frustration. They had only been allowed to eat once since they had been abducted and that had been yesterday and Vek had only allowed it because they could barely move from the physical abuse and extreme exhaustion.

'I wonder, if we start pretending to faint from no food, will they feed us?’ Ardeth murmured, twisting so that he wouldn’t bump any of Rick’s injuries.

'I'm about ready to give it a try,' Rick replied looking pathetically at his brother. 'I'm so hungry that I'd take Father Duncan's food right now!'

The younger boy laughed through the bond. 'I'll try it the next time one of them is paying attention to us. Oh, look—we're heading right for that pit. Brace yourself.'

Rick was torn between wanting to laugh at their enemies’ hardships and wanting to scold them for the rough way they were being jostled about with such severe and fresh injuries. He held onto his brother with one hand to try to anchor him while wrapping his arm around the pole he was currently handcuffed to. All were shaken as the car went into the ditch. Agent Vek swore, got out to survey the damage to their vehicle, and then swore again at the driver for his incompetence.

As the agent's eyes skimmed across the captives, Ardeth let his eyes flutter closed and he slumped against the side of the car, completely limp. 'What's he doing?'

Rick fixed him with a glare. "What do you think? He hasn't been fed but once since you took us from the SGC and when you did let us eat, you gave us a granola bar! To split! Then you're carting us around out here in the hot sun across the desert without water, without rations, and you think we're going to make it to Hamunaptra?" His tone was saturated with sarcasm and frustration at the man's lack of common sense. Truth be told, he was surprised they had made it this far alive.

Agent Vek rolled his eyes. "Someone get the brats some food and water! And get the jeep out of that hole!" He ordered, stalking away.

Rick took the food and water and divided it between him and his brother. He sighed and had to keep from groaning when he realized that their meal was bread and jerky. 'Not again,' he groaned inwardly as he handed Ardeth his share.

'Oh, this food looks familiar,' Ardeth rolled his eyes as he saw what they had been given.

'Bad guys must not eat anything else all their lives.' But Rick was glad at least that they had something to eat. He handed Ardeth the water canteen first.

Drinking gratefully, Ardeth made certain he left plenty of water for Rick. Both boys ate their food quickly, watching as the adults worked on freeing the truck.

As he watched the NID agents work, Rick’s first instinct was to start complaining how they were levering the jeep wrong and lecturing them on the correct way to haul large objects out of deep pits like that. But he fought to keep that inside him, because unlike the way it had been with Alack-nah, these guys were not under the restraint to keep them well and alive on this trip. He didn’t want to give Agent Vek any other reason to look at them, let alone keep them in line. He sighed when more of the sand collapsed onto the car further burying the vehicle. This was going to be a very long journey. But he was consoled by the fact that this meant that Vek was that much farther from his goal.

‘This is going to take a very long time. Hopefully we’ll be able to delay the trip long enough that we need to spend the night in the desert. That will give us plenty of opportunities to freak them out.’

Rick smiled slightly. By the time they were able to maneuver the jeep out of the pit, they discovered that the fall had caused a serious crack in the undercarriage of the vehicle. The only reason that they didn't turn around right then for repairs was because they had brought repair tools with them, much to Rick's and Ardeth's dismay. But it took the rest of the afternoon for the mechanic to fix the problem, so the NID agents were forced to break out supplies for camp for the night. The NID agents were incredibly attentive to their captives, never leaving them alone for a minute with at least two guards keeping an eye on them at all times.

"Double check your section for any scorpions. This is prime territory for poisonous things," Ardeth said out loud to Rick, hoping to freak out the people watching them a bit.

Rick nodded seriously, laughing inwardly as he caught a lot of the agents beginning to shift uneasily and cast about as they sat around the fire. Vek however seemed not to hear this, that or he wasn't bothered by it. Rick couldn't say he was surprised. The man almost didn't seem human in a way. But the morale of his men had been affected and that would help.

Ardeth did check his section over very carefully—he didn't want to accidentally become a victim of the desert.

One of the guards pointed his AK-47 at Rick threateningly, feeling his prisoner was getting a little too far away. "Don't even think about it! Get back over here!" But Rick didn't move. The man growled angrily and moved closer to the boy pushing the muzzle of his gun roughly against the back of the boy's head.

"No, don't!" Rick shouted, voice ringing slightly with alarm. He had unexpectedly come face-to-face with a cobra and was doing his best not to move, but the man hitting him with the barrel of his semi-automatic wasn't helping him any.

"Rick, what's wrong?" Ardeth demanded, turning from where he had been searching his section to see what was going on. He spotted the snake immediately and frowned. "You, move away from my brother slowly. Do not stomp or step heavily on the sand. No sudden movements. Rick, close your eyes most of the way, in case if it's one of the spitting ones."

Rick did as Ardeth instructed and began to crawl slowly backwards. Agent Vek, still annoyed by the incident with the jeep, stood and walked over aiming his gun at the snake and taking fire, not particularly caring if he missed and it bit Rick. Everyone was startled by the gunshot, including the cobra which reared its head and hissed threateningly.

"Stop!" Ardeth commanded, laying his voice with some power. Then turned his attention to the snake and stared it down.

The snake slowly stopped its aggressive movements, calmed, and then slithered away into the night. Rick sighed deeply in relief but tensed again when he saw that Vek was now pointing his gun at Ardeth. "Explain to me how you did that, boy!" the man demanded.

"How I did what?" Ardeth asked right back, meeting the man's eyes. "Sent the snake away? That is an old desert trick."

The man watched Ardeth, wary and uncertain. After a moment he lowered his gun. Holstering it, he grabbed a fistful of each of the boy's shirts and dragged them back to the fireside. Setting them down roughly, jarring several of their injuries, he glowered down at them. "Don't move from this spot. If I catch either one of you wandering away again for any reason, I’ll put a bullet in both of your heads."

Ardeth's eyes narrowed, and he glared at the man. "You are the one who should be wandering—you're about to step in an asps' nest."

The man looked down at his feet and finding snakes around his combat boots, raising their heads, feeling threatened. The man stood very still looking coldly at the prince. It seemed almost as if the boy had arranged that. "Well then, you have another chance to display your gift for charming snakes," he purred as he pulled out his gun and aimed it at Rick. "If you can't get rid of them, then your brother will die," he stated calmly, his eyes challenging Ardeth to test him.

"Oh, give me a break," Rick grumbled under his breath.

"Why is it our fault that you don't know how to survive in the desert? Foolish Americans! No offense," he said over his shoulder to Rick, flashing the other boy a reassuring smile.

"None taken," Rick said, shrugging at Ardeth's comment.

Ardeth turned to the snakes, and focused on them, willing them back into their nest, revealing just a hint of his power.

The asps slowly uncoiled themselves from around Vek's feet and slithered away to their hole.

"Now I've saved you from your own stupidity. Go away." Ardeth told Vek, turning his back on the man and settling down next to Rick, wincing as his injuries started throbbing again. He was too tired to search for more desert creatures, so he did a mild banishing spell from the area around where they were.

Vek stepped over to Ardeth and knelt beside him, getting up in his face, his expression dangerous. Suddenly, his dagger drove straight through Ardeth's hand.

Rick lunged at the man, but the other agents caught him and drove him painfully into the sand, restraining him as he struggled to break free.

"Let's get one thing straight," Vek told Ardeth, "I'm in charge here. You are still breathing because I had decided that the value of keeping you both alive outweighed the inconvenience of having to bring you. If you were smart, the two of you would try not to convince me otherwise."

Ardeth's breathing was a little ragged, but he met Vek's eyes steadily. "You are the one foolish enough to enter the desert with no preparation. The desert keeps that which it has claimed. I am a child of the desert, and I belong here—the entire desert is going to rise against you and your men since you have spilled my blood into the sand."

Vek looked down in mock disappointment. "That's too bad. Here, let me make it up to you." He punched the boy without removing the knife, the impact causing Ardeth's body to twist and pulling the muscles in his hand even further against the blade.

Rick spat at the man with a renewed effort tried to break free, actually making enough progress that another couple of agents had to come over and help hold the boy down.

Vek withdrew the dagger with a quick twist and, cleaning off the blade, went back to sit over comfortably by the fireside.

As the men let Rick up, Ardeth scooted over to be as close to Rick as he could. The younger boy was trembling violently, cradling his injured hand.

Rick instinctively put his hand over it and muttered a healing charm. When he moved his hand away a good deal of the wound had healed. He looked at Ardeth, again uncertain of what he had said or how he had helped it to heal. He wobbled slightly a little dizzy from feeling the energy leave him.

Ardeth stared down at his much healed hand and shook his head. The wound was still bleeding sluggishly, but most of the nerve and tendon damage was gone. 'We really need to get you some training,' Ardeth murmured through the bond. 'Thank you, my brother. Sleep for a bit.'

‘You’re welcome,’ Rick said, then chuckled wryly as he began to lie down. ‘I just wish I knew what I was saying or how I know to say it without knowing what I’m doing.’ But for now he was satisfied with the knowledge that he had been able to help Ardeth some. He shifted around for a while trying to find a comfortable position to lie in with all the wounds he had, but finally giving up, he lay on his stomach. He didn’t like sleeping in such a vulnerable position but it was the area with the least wounds on it so far. He kept close to Ardeth not trusting Vek to make it through the night without venting his aggressive tensions on them. But after about an hour and a half of closely eyeing the agents, exhaustion won out and he fell asleep.

The night was very quiet—Ardeth stayed awake for several hours after Rick fell asleep, until Vek finally went to sleep. Once the man was deeply asleep, Ardeth set to work making certain that all of their compasses would point to the smaller sacred area. There were less traps there, but there was also no Creature there for the men to awaken.

When morning broke, the agents roughly woke the boys and quickly tried to get everything ready to go. Vek was eager to get under way, frustrated for the lost time yesterday and determined to make up for it today.

Yawning several times, Ardeth obediently went over to the vehicle, lifting the banishment spell from the area where they had slept and anchoring it on Rick, so that it would follow the boy around until its power ran out.

Rick held his tongue with some great effort as Vek had his men shove him and Ardeth roughly into the jeep. Seeing that his mind was preoccupied with getting to their destination as quickly as possible, he didn't want to draw the man's attention to them. 'How's your hand doing this morning?' he asked Ardeth once the jeep was moving.

The younger boy waited until they were both settled, and the group was on its way again before examining the fresh injury. 'It's sore, but it should heal without too much difficulty,' he reported, flexing it gently, careful to not break the scab.

'Good,' Rick sighed in relief. 'Hopefully the lunatic won't notice it’s speedy recovery and feel compelled to reverse that.' He glared at the back of the man's head.

'How are your energy levels after that bit of magic last night?' Ardeth asked, settling back into the seat when he saw they were headed for a very rocky section. 'Brace yourself,'

Rick grabbed the edge of the door and tried to hold himself and Ardeth firm, but the last pitfall had taken out what little shock absorbers the vehicle had. Rick winced as the jarring motion shook them both.

'The desert is not happy with them,' Ardeth whispered through the bond, trying not to laugh. 'This area has never been so difficult to traverse before.'

Rick chuckled. 'Talk about a welcome home gift,' he shook his head. 'The desert takes up arms against our enemies. Will there be a sandstorm next?'

Ardeth winced. 'Don't give it any ideas! It's already furious—outsiders have spilled the blood of Med-jai royalty. The desert never reacted to the temple guards because they are also children of the desert. But these men—they are fair game.'

'Hey,' Rick said raising an eyebrow impressed. 'Maybe we won't have to worry about making it to Hamunaptra.' Then he turned serious. 'How are your leg and arm doing?'

The younger boy gasped slightly at a particularly bad bump, then sighed. 'I think my leg just opened up again. Well, hopefully we'll have a chance to tend to each other's injuries soon here.'

Rick grimaced, nodding. He looked out across the desert. He had to admit that even though he would rather be anywhere else, he was glad at least that they were out in the open again. Seeing the sky and the rolling dunes helped to ease both their minds greatly.

'What's the first thing you're going to do when we get home?' Ardeth asked suddenly, flinching as they rocked violently again. 'I'm going to take a hot bath.'

'I'm going to beg Gen to feed us with decent food, and then I'm going to wallow in the sand out under the open sky. And then we'll probably spend a great deal of time explaining to Amir and your dad just what happened and begging them not to kill us.'

'This is true. Oh, look—just at the horizon, see the black pillar? That's the sacred site we're headed for.'

Rick squinted, trying to bring the distant object into focus. 'So what's the story behind this sacred site? What evil is buried here?'

'No one knows, actually. There is a room in the center where there are dozens of clay jars, all sealed, lining the walls. Legends say that if one of them is broken, the world will suffer.'

Rick raised his eyebrows, surprised. With all the secrets that the Med-jai guarded, he couldn't imagine that there would be anything they didn't know about the crypts they kept watch over. As they drew closer, he saw that the pillar seemed to be made of some sort of black obsidian, but he wasn't really certain about it. The pillar was such a deep shade of black his eyes could not fully focus on it.

'Don't stare too long at the pillar. It tends to hypnotize people, and leave them mindless drones,' Ardeth warned, keeping his gaze well averted.

With an effort, Rick pulled his eyes away to glance down at the floor of the jeep. 'Well that might help with some of these guys,' he said as he shook his head slightly to shake off the odd feeling the depths of the stone had left him with. Once the jeep pulled to a stop, Vek got out and looked around his eyes scouring the area.

Ardeth sank down into the seat, keeping the door between Vek and himself. 'Keep down. It won't take him long to realize this isn't Hamunaptra.'

Rick could already see the blood rising into his face as he slid down slightly. A shiver went down his spine as he began desperately trying to think of a way they could safely get away from the men and into the ruins to find weapons.

'Is there a guard by your door?' Ardeth asked desperately, whispering a spell and breaking the handcuffs that trapped them within the vehicle.

'No,' Rick replied after peeking out over the edge of the door.

'Good. Is your wrist free?' the younger boy took a moment to form splints for both of their legs that would support the bone while still allowing them to move—and since they were magic, the NID wouldn't be able to see them or do anything about it.

'Yeah,' the older boy answered, casting a quick look over the edge of the car to mark Vek’s location and then quickly gauge the distance between their jeep and the entrance into the ruins.

'As soon as we're inside, then turn to the chamber to the right. There are two pitfalls just after the entrance, so jump about three feet in and to the left. I'll be right behind you.'

Rick nodded, quickly burning the directions into his mind. He took a deep breath, then threw the car door open and took off towards the entrance.


	20. Chapter 20

There were shouts behind him, and some bullets flew past his head. Ardeth was just behind him.

Rick wove back and forth, dodging behind crumbling edifices whenever possible. He winced slightly as a near-miss grazed his arm. 'Almost there!'

'Keep going—I'll activate the defenses as soon as we're inside!'

After a few moments Rick crossed the threshold, recalling in his mind the instructions that Ardeth had given him and beginning to follow them.

As soon as Ardeth was over the threshold, he whirled and faced out, raising his hands to either side of the door, willing the protections active.

Vek and his men were all racing after the boys, guns blazing. Rick had made it safely past the pitfalls and was waiting for his brother.

A blue shimmering sheet of energy sprang up in the doorway, reacting to the desperation in Ardeth's plea for protection.

Some of Vek's men faltered at the sight of the strange blue field. Vek barked at them harshly. "Get him! Now!"

One of the braver men started for the doorway, and Ardeth rolled his eyes. "I wouldn't. Only a Med-jai can pass through this doorway without dying."

The man stopped cold, turning to look at his superior. The look on the man's face was livid. "Bring him to me now!" The man swallowed hard and tried to pass through the door.

Ardeth crossed his arms. "Your funeral,"

The man stopped cold before the blue wall of energy. He waved his gun through it, testing it.

Ardeth rolled his eyes, and started for the other room. He had been more than kind—he had warned the men.

Seeing Ardeth moving away, Vek growled. Oh yeah? We'll see if your force shield technology can stop this! He snatched the staff weapon that one of his agents had been armed with, aimed at the boy, and fired into the field.

Ardeth jerked and cried out, falling to his knees, as the blast from the staff weapon caught him in the back.

Vek smiled cruelly in triumph as the prince fell to the ground. Rick, having heard Ardeth's cry and felt his pain surge through their bond, retraced his steps and found his brother sprawled out on the ground. His heart was racing, terrified at the sight of the gaping wound. Ardeth was lying face down on the floor, the flesh of his back singed and bleeding heavily. Rick quickly wrapped his arms under Ardeth's and pulled him as best he could out of the line of fire and back into the room. Once they were safe, he laid Ardeth's head in his lap, carefully cradling his brother in his arms. "Ardeth?" his voice trembled and his breath hitched in his chest as he spoke his brother's name.

The boy was gasping for each breath, and barely able to focus on Rick's face. 'Sorry, Rick,' he whispered through the bond, loosing the fight to stay with the brother of his soul.

Rick felt Ardeth's death and the loss winded him. He shook his head, his eyes glistening with tears. It wasn't possible. "No," he breathed as the tears began to flow down his face. "No, Ardeth, come back!" he pleaded. When no reply came, he drew his brother's body to his chest and began to sob, his cry of pain echoing mournfully through the catacombs. 'You can't die!’ he screamed through theirs bond. 'I can't lose you again, David!’ He shut his eyes tightly, clinging to Ardeth's body as the words of a sacred Med-jai incantation began to spill from his lips. He could hear the translation in his mind even though he did not know where it came from. "By most sacred of Med-jai rites, the deepest of brother bonds, every drop of blood I give to you, every breath I draw, every ounce of strength. On behalf of kindred love, I bid you brother of my soul to live."

The younger boy shuddered for a moment, then gasped in a breath of air, the giant wound on his back slowly closing. 'Rick? What happened?' Ardeth whispered through the bond, completely bewildered.

Rick's eyes widened for a moment, stunned, and then a smile burst across his face. ‘Ardeth,’ he breathed, choked with joy, but his vision was rapidly failing and everything seemed to be drifting away. All sound became muffled as his body began to shut down. His eyes rolled back into his head and he fell lifelessly to the floor.

'Rick? Are you alright?' Ardeth asked, too weak himself to check on the older boy. Unfortunately, when Ardeth had died, the protections that he had raised had fallen, so the NID could get into the tunnels.

As Rick fell back, he knocked over an urn which fell to the floor and shattered. A strange snake had been inside it and writhed about on the floor for a second now released from its confines. Seeing Rick lying prone on the floor, it slithered over towards him.

Hearing the strange noise, Ardeth stirred a little, trying to find the energy to sit up and figure out what was going on. Outside, the NID agents had finally noticed that the shield was gone.

The snake got close to the older boy and then attacked him, burrowing into his neck. Rick's eyes opened briefly, and he gasped in pain, his eyes glowing suddenly. But they shut and the boy went limp again. He had expended every ounce of his energy and it would be a long while before he would gain it back. At that moment, the NID agents piled into the room, weapons aimed at both the boys. Vek stared at Ardeth wide-eyed to see that he was still alive and, what's more, that the huge, bloody staff blast wound on his back had vanished. He had assumed from the way the boy had fallen and from hearing what he had thought was Rick's cry that Ardeth had died. But Rick was lying seemingly dead on the floor surrounded by shards of broken pottery and Ardeth was unharmed.

"Go away!" Ardeth rasped, managing to sit up a little and glare at the men.

"Shut up!" he snapped at Ardeth. "You have no idea how much you will both pay for this deception." He nodded at his men who picked Ardeth up and dragged him out to the jeep. Another agent knelt to check Rick's pulse, careful to keep his gun aimed at the kid in case he was trying anything. "He's alive, barely," he reported, feeling an incredibly weak pulse. Vek shook his head. He was so furious that he was tempted to kill Rick anyways. But after a moment, he nodded to his men. "Bring him," he grated out.

The man picked Rick up and draped him over his shoulder, then brought the boy out to the jeep. Both boys were handcuffed again, and Ardeth fought to stay awake.

Vek grabbed Ardeth by the hair. "One more mistake and I promise you, boy, I will carve open your brother's stomach and leave him to bleed to death in the sands."

Ardeth hissed in pain as the man's movement pulled on the new skin on his back. "I understand," he ground out, reaching out through the bond to make certain that Rick was fine. His brother's energy levels were low, but there was something strange about him.

The NID agent glared at him for a moment before releasing his hair and climbing into the jeep himself. Rick stirred slightly, jostled as the jeep started moving.

'Rick? Are you alright?' Ardeth whispered, leaning back against the seat, too exhausted to try to stay upright.

Rick responded strangely to Ardeth's use of their bond. His face tensed as if he were under a great strain, and sweat beaded over his forehead. His breathing quickened slightly. 'Ardeth,' Rick's thought came weakly, but urgent as if in fear and warning.

'What's wrong, my brother?' Ardeth demanded, sitting up a little straighter and reaching farther into the bond.

But suddenly, Rick's muscles relaxed and his eyes opened a little. His end of the bond had gone suddenly silent, but the feeling of fear remained. Something was very wrong. He breathed slowly still seemingly exhausted from bringing Ardeth back to life. After a moment, Rick's thoughts stretched out to him again, 'I'm okay. Are you alright?' He looked over at Ardeth his face filled with concern.

'I'll be fine, I'm sure. What happened? I died, didn't I?"

Rick shuddered. 'Yes, but you're alive now," he replied with a small smile, a tear running down his cheek as he faced his brother. 'Ardeth, I can't see anything,' he breathed, somewhat alarmed but trying not to show it.

'What do you mean?' Ardeth asked, thoroughly alarmed now.

'I'm blind somehow,' he shook his head not understanding it himself. 'I can't see. I can barely hear your voice. And I'm very, very dizzy.'

'Just relax for now. I'll figure out what's going on, I promise. Try to sleep—that will replenish your energy levels.'

Rick reached his hand over blindly searching for his brother's hand. Finding it, he seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. 'You're alive,' he whispered as he lay his head back what little he could against the seat in the jeep.

'Sleep my brother.' Ardeth commanded, squeezing Rick's hand reassuringly. 'I'll keep watch for both of us.'

“Rick” lay back smiling inwardly. It may have been a few thousand years, but he still had his ability to fool and manipulate the simple-minded Tauri. He could feel Rick, the real Rick, raging in the area of his host's subconscious that he'd suppressed him to. He taunted him cruelly, telling him of how, when the situation turned to his advantage, he would be certain to let him watch as he killed his brother with his own hands.

Ardeth leaned back against the seat, watching Rick from the corner of his eye. The younger boy closed off his part of the bond—something wasn't right with Rick.

Now that the compass wasn't leading them astray, Vek had managed to get his bearings and get the jeep headed for Hamunaptra again. Apparently, his warning had sunk in, because he didn't have any problems with the two brats in the back seat. He kept an eye on them, but his level of frustration seemed to be going down. "Rick" slept soundly, more than willing to let Ardeth bear the burden of having to keep watch as long as the boy was willing to. He would play along and pretend that his host was unaltered, but he was trying to regain enough strength to overtake them all by the time they reached their destination. He also had not noticed that Ardeth had closed himself to the bond that he and his host usually shared. But underneath, Rick was still fighting to free himself from the goa'uld that had possessed him.

Ardeth started searching for any reason for Rick to have changed his aura so suddenly, keeping half his attention on Vek and the other men.

The older boy slept without stirring, unaware of the prince's probing. He was still recovering from the incredible drain yesterday. At present, it was taking every ounce of his energy simply to suppress his host, and this worked in Ardeth's favor. As the jeep rattled its way over the dunes, his head rolled heavily to one side revealing, a small cut on the back of his neck.

"Oh, curses," Ardeth whispered, swallowing hard. He had absolutely no idea what to do now. There had to be some way to get the creature out of Rick—maybe SG-1 would know.

As SG-1 approached the City of the Dead in their own jeep, Daniel looked at the mesa in awe. "I still can't believe it really exists!" he said shaking his head.

But as they got close enough and the jeep pulled to a stop about a hundred yards away from the entrance, Jacob got out and surveyed it. His eyes narrowed as he scanned the mesa. "There's not much left of it," Selmak said cautiously. "It looks as though the city was destroyed."

"It was destroyed, many years ago," A lightly accented voice said from behind them. "Welcome to Hamunaptra, my friends."

The six of them turned around to see two men at the head of a group of warriors robed in black. SG-1 balked as they realized they recognized the two men. Jack was the first to find his voice again. "Boys? Ardeth? Rick? Is that you?" He pulled his sunglasses off, convinced that he was seeing things.

Ardeth smiled at them. "Yes, it is us. Our younger selves will be arriving shortly, and they have had quite a difficult time of it. How are you at extracting symbiotes?"

Selmak's face darkened, not liking the feeling he got when the Med-jai king asked him that. "I am able to extract them fairly easily. Why do you ask?"

Rick groaned, looking down and shuddering at the memory. Never in all his life had he been so scared with the exception of the times that they faced Imhotep himself.

The Med-jai king rested his hand on Rick's shoulder, reassuring him. "I am afraid that young Rick was implanted with a symbiote after bringing me back from the dead, so he was too weak to fight it off. Come, I will show you where we will wait to ambush the NID."

"Whoa, wait!" Jack stammered as they all started to follow the Med-jai warriors. "Rick’s been implanted? Brought you back from the dead? Ok, Ardeth when this little battle of ours has been fought and won, you two...or four...have some storytelling to do!"

The man laughed quietly. "You must have patience, Jack O'Neill. After all, you don't get to my age without learning some of life's little tricks."

"Yeah, no kidding," Rick chuckled as they took up positions. He pulled out a shotgun, armed to the teeth as usual.

Sam looked at the men comparing them to the boys they knew. They didn't look as old as they should, and they seemed unnaturally strong for their age. "We came here with an idea that we may be able to join forces with your people to rescue you two, but we never expected to find you here as well."

Ardeth nodded. "Yes. I remember what a shock it was to see all of you here to rescue us, along with our adult selves. It still confuses me some."

"Join the club," Jack said with his usual dry manner.

"But it's good at least to know ahead of time that things are going to turn out alright," Jonas said, feeling the irony of that statement as he remembered his brief week when he could predict the future.

"Very true. Come, the jeep is almost close enough for them to spot us. Get comfortable!" Ardeth instructed, lying down behind the remnants of one of the pillars, scimitar out and in his hand.

The jeep carrying the boys and the NID agents had traveled non-stop, and finally the mesa of Hamunaptra loomed in the distance. Vek stood in the jeep, grinning broadly. "Now we're making progress," he purred. He looked back at Rick and Ardeth, pondering what to do with them now that they were no longer necessary to find Hamunaptra. His cruel eyes flitted over the two boys. No, he would keep them a while longer and then the second either proved troublesome, he would kill them both. The goa'uld stirred when he felt the jeep come to a stop. He was annoyed that his vision was still a bit hazy, but he could discern things now if they were close enough. He sent a jolt of pain to his host, punishing him for resisting him. If it wasn't for Rick's stubborn nature, he would have regained his sight completely by now.

Ardeth stared at Hamunaptra in confused dismay. It looked like the entire place had been destroyed! "What happened here?" he murmured in Ancient Egyptian.

"I don't know, I can't see it. What do you see?" the goa'uld answered back without thinking in Ancient Egyptian. As a system lord, he knew Ancient Egyptian and forgot that his host hadn't started learning that language yet.

Swallowing hard at the reminder that his friend was in serious trouble, Ardeth scanned the area looking for any clues. "My best guess would be that the Creature awakened, and the self destruct was initiated."

"Rick" was about to ask more questions, but the enraged NID leader turned on them, hoisting Ardeth out of the jeep and shaking him violently. "You've wasted my time, boy, and sent me on a wild goose chase through this desert, endangering me and my men's lives!" he bellowed in the boy's face. The goa'uld shrunk away from Ardeth, not wanting the man's wrath to affect him.

Ardeth let his bewildered eyes meet Vek's. "Hamunaptra was whole when I was here last! But that was in 1917—anything could have happened since then."

The man tilted his head and with a chilling calmness said, "Too bad for you." He threw the boy to the ground and pulled out the staff weapon again. "I don't know how it happened last time, but this time I will not miss."


	21. Chapter 21

Suddenly, the agent fell backward, two rounds of a shotgun obliterating his chest. Vek was dead before he hit the ground. The older Rick breathed a sigh of relief as he began to reload his shotgun. "I keep my promises," he murmured repeating the words he had spoken to Vek all those years and just a few short days ago.

The older Ardeth rolled his eyes at Rick, and motioned for the Med-jai with them to deal with the other NID. "Come, let's go retrieve the young us."

Rick nodded. "Be careful of me... oh that's just wierd," he said shaking his head at the words coming out of his own mouth. SG-1 exchanged glances.

Jack looked at Teal'c before heading out with his gun, "Hey, T, doesn't this remind you of a particularly bad episode of the Twilight Zone?"

"It does indeed, O'Neill." Teal'c told him, as both men started for Rick. The younger Ardeth had left Rick still handcuffed.

The goa'uld's eyes were glowing in frustration as he tried to break free. "Ardeth?" he called out to the prince, playing Rick again. "Come on, help me with this," he pleaded letting the fear show through in his eyes as bullets zinged all around them.

Ardeth stayed where he was, hoping his plan would work. He could see Med-jai coming—they would help. "I can't Rick! My splint on my leg is worn off, so I can't get up again. Wait until the fighting is done—there are Med-jai here, they'll help."

Rick cast his glance over the car door seeing the warriors in black descending from the mesa like a wave. His eyes glowed briefly in fury. "Accursed Med-jai!" he spat. He was not about to let the Tok'ra Tauri special forces take him prisoner. Abandoning the ruse, he used his goa'uld strength to break the cuffs and jumped over the door. Throwing a glare of contempt at the prince, he took off trying to reach the shelter of the ruins where at least he might be able to hide or find weapons to protect himself with while he plotted his escape.

Seeing Rick run, Ardeth opened the bond and blasted a sleeping spell through, hoping that would be enough to temporarily stop the creature living in Rick.

Rick staggered and fell face-first into the sand, unconscious before he even hit the dirt. Teal'c and Jack and the older Rick were making they way over to the goa'uld. Rick smiled as he saw himself go down remembering what had happened. He would have to remind himself later to congratulate his brothers for their quick thinking. He shook his head almost bewildered by the sensation of living the same battle twice from two completely different vantage points. Once he reached his fifteen year old self, he immediately cast a couple of charms to bind the boy so that he would be unable to move when he came to. Then he picked himself up and tossed the goa'uld over his shoulder while Jack and Teal'c helped to cover him.

"Oh yeah," Jack said as they ran, "A really bad episode of the Twilight Zone! Wait till Hammond hears about this one!"

"I do not believe that General Hammond will believe what we have to report to him," Teal'c commented, glancing over at the jeep. One of the remaining NID agents had had the brilliant idea of using Ardeth as a shield against the approaching Med-jai.

But he didn't see Jonas and Jacob circle around behind him. Jacob could see that Ardeth had sustained numerous injuries and remembered the torture he had endured from what he had seen on the tape back at the NID building. Armed with a zat, he knew that if he shot the NID agent, he would also hit the prince with the shockwave. He didn't want to cause the boy any more pain than necessary. "Can you get a clear shot?" Jacob asked Jonas.

The young alien considered it for a minute, then stepped a few feet away and nodded. "I can, sir,"

Jacob nodded, "Take it," he said as he covered Jonas.

Taking a deep breath, Jonas let it out and shot the agent, dropping the man to the sand. Caught by surprise, Ardeth fell too, which brought him safely out of the battlefield.

Jacob and Jonas ran over to protect him just in case any more agents got the bright idea of using the prince as a hostage. Soon, all of the NID agents had been neutralized.

Ardeth sat up, shakily wiping sand and blood off of his bruised and cut face. "Do you know of any way to get the Creature out of Rick?"

"Already got that covered," a familiar voice said. The adult Rick knelt beside his younger brother pulling his kerchief out and wetting it down with some water from his canteen as he began to wash the blood off of his brother's face. 'Since I wasn't able to do this last time,' he murmured through their bond.

The boy blinked at the older version of his brother. "You're old," he said, forgetting himself and speaking out loud, wondering if maybe he had a concussion after all.

Rick laughed. "Hey, buddy, I'm only ten months older than you so think about how old you look now." He jerked his head over in the older Ardeth's direction.

"Father?" Ardeth asked, eyebrows knitted together, then shook his head. "No, that's not right. How old are you?" He asked Rick, forcing his attention back to the man.

Rick died laughing when he heard Ardeth calling himself "Father." "Okay,” he said to the older Ardeth, “I don't ever want to hear you call me old again or Azizah and Alex and Evy and Jonathan will never let you hear the end of this one." He turned back to the younger Ardeth and shook his head amused that Ardeth hadn't guessed who he was yet. "I'm 'bout a hundred years older that the first time this happened. Didn't I tell you we might meet ourselves?"

"This is just so wrong, Rick. Well, at least I know now that the Creature doesn't stay in your head," the young Ardeth said with a sigh. "Who are all of those people you mentioned?"

"Well you know Evelyn, but the rest you'll meet later," he assured him, checking him over for any broken bones or other injuries.

Ardeth gave him an annoyed look when he started checking him over. "I'm fine. Leave the fussing for Amir." He paused. "Amir isn't here, is he?"

“No, he’s not,” Rick said aloud as he sat down in the sand next to his brother, then through their bond, ‘But don’t worry, you’ll see him again soon enough.’

Jacob was leaning over the young Rick O’Connell aiming his zat at the boy and trying to examine him. He looked over at the younger Ardeth. “Which goa’uld is has taken him?” he asked as the boy started to stir slightly.

“I don’t know—I didn’t see which of the urns broke. We would have to go back to the other sacred area.” Ardeth told the man, flinching as he tried to move to go to his twin—the one that was his age. “He should sleep for a while, though—I blasted him with a strong spell.”

Selmak nodded. "Which sacred area is it?" he asked as he looked between the two Ardeths, recalling all the locations that the Med-jai were supposed to guard when he was on earth last.

"It was Ahm Teran," the older Ardeth told him and raised an eyebrow at Rick. "You better work on stopping my younger self from bleeding. Check his leg."

"I knew it," he gave the young Ardeth an exasperated expression. "You heard yourself. No objections this time, because right now I'm old enough and big enough to wrestle you to the ground, and I will if I have to." He knelt by the prince and closed his eyes as he held a hand over the wound that had been reopened. As he spoke a few phrases in Arabic under his breath, the wound disappeared altogether and the bone in his brother's leg mended. Rick took a deep breath and then opened his eyes to look at Ardeth. He smiled at the boy. "Stubborn."

The boy stared at the adult Rick. "I take it you've had a lot of practice, and finally got some training," he said, after a moment, carefully moving his leg and smiling at the lack of pain.

Rick chuckled. "Between the amount of injuries the two of us get, I had to!"

SG-1 was staring at the Med-jai in amazement. Jack shook his head amazed. "Ok, you guys have got to teach us that trick!" Then he turned to the older Ardeth. "And then what's that you were saying about Rick bringing you back from the dead? What happened to you guys?"

"Oh, all sorts of things. You know about Vek absolutely hating us—well I managed to lead them the wrong way, and we tried to escape. Only Vek shot me in the back with a staff weapon. I died, but since Rick and I are Med-jai twins, we share a bond between us. I had strengthened it enough that he was able to use it and a very ancient spell, one that no one has ever tried before, to bring me back."

Every one turned and looked at Rick. Jacob stared at the boy shaking his head. "We never thought that one would work. It was so much of a drain on the user it was assumed that anyone who tried the incantation would be sapped entirely of their life force."

Rick looked between the adult Ardeth and the younger Ardeth. "Even if I had known as much I still would have done it," he said softly. In truth it had been the result he had expected. "I was really surprised to wake up after that but then the goa'uld had me and I had to warn you," he looked at the prince, "But he shut me down before I could."

"Oh, I knew. There was something that was just not quite right about the way you talked to me. Come, let's get him back to SGC, so he can be de-snaked."

SG-1 loaded the young O'Connell into the jeep while the adult Ardeth left instructions for the Med-jai. The king and his brother came back with the rest of them to the SGC.

Young Ardeth frowned as the adult Rick took great delight in informing him he wasn't allowed to move around on his own yet, and carried him to the vehicle. The older Ardeth sighed when he saw that. "You never give up, do you?"

"Hey, let's face the facts: you're stubborn and you don't tell people about your injuries. Now it's either this, or see a healer later for complications." He raised his eyebrows as he looked between the two. 'It's me fussing over you now or either Dr. Frasier or Amir fussing over you later. At least I won't lecture you.'

The boy's eyes widened. "Very well, I will suffer this indignity from you. But only if you vow to keep Amir and Dr. Frasier away from me!"

"As long as you don't push yourself, that's fine with me," Rick assured him. He climbed into the jeep and looked down at himself, carefully scanning the boy to make sure his binding spells were still in effect. The rest of SG-1 squeezed into the jeep.

It didn't take young Ardeth long to fall asleep once they were on their way, although he fought it. When he was finally asleep, the adult Ardeth sighed in relief. "I was quite stubborn, wasn't I?"

"Aren't you always?" Rick asked grinning at his brother his eyebrows raised. "And I wouldn't have it any other way, except maybe with the injuries thing. Heaven knows, you've saved my life countless times, and even Evie's and Alex's because of how stubborn you are."

The Med-jai king rolled his eyes. "And you would claim to be innocent of any stubbornness, my twin?" he asked, his smirk widening as he saw the expression on Daniel's face. The man was just itching to ask questions and find out what had happened to Hamunaptra.

Rick put his hand to his chest, putting his best innocent face on. "I have no idea what you’re talking about. I am a very complying, flexible—" He couldn't even get the denial out he was laughing so hard.

Since Ardeth was trapped between several people, he looked over at Jack, who was right next to Rick. "Smack him for me, please,"

Jack shook his head, "Maybe the younger one, but I'm not getting involved in this. If you two were that tough when you were kids I can't imagine your abilities now, and I do not feel like dying today."

Ardeth turned his attention to Daniel and Jonas, and smiled at the men. "You may ask your questions. I am now king, so I am allowed to reveal whatever I wish."

Daniel beamed, absolutely thrilled that he was now allowed to know the secrets of the Med-jai. Jonas was also thrilled to know about Ardeth's people, but there was also a look of amusement in his eye at Dr. Jackson's enthusiastic reaction. "So Hamunaptra is real? Why was it kept secret all these years?"

"Yes, Hamunaptra is real. It was kept a secret because of the Creature that was imprisoned there." Ardeth sighed, and tossed his hair out of his face. "Have you ever heard of the Hom-dai?"

Daniel nodded his head. "Yes, I came across a reference to it in one of your books when we were in the past. What is it?"

"The Hom-dai is the worst curse that could ever be used. It was only used once, and never again. It was used on Imhotep, priest of Pharaoh Seti the first." Ardeth told them, remembering the past.

"Imhotep," he repeated the name. "Yes, legend has it that he and Anck-su-namun, the pharaoh's mistress, murdered Seti to cover their adultery, but then Anck-su-namun took her own life rather than be punished by Pharaoh's bodyguards. Was this why he was cursed?"

"Partially. Yes, he and Anck-su-namun had an affair, and they did murder Seti. Imhotep's priests dragged him away before my ancestors could catch him, and Anck-su-namun did kill herself. Imhotep stole her body, took the book of the dead, and went into the innermost part of Hamunaptra to bring her back to life. For that abomination and his other crimes, he was condemned to the Hom-dai."

"So what exactly is involved in the Hom-dai? How is it performed? What was dangerous enough about it that it had to under guard for three thousand years?" Jonas asked.

"It is written that, if the Creature ever rose after the Hom-dai had been performed, he would be a walking plague, with powers unknown to the earth. He would unleash the ten plagues on Egypt and rule the world."

"Ah, the old wipe-out-the-world ploy," Jack groaned. "Apparently that never gets old with bad guys."

Daniel grimaced. "Wow. Well, that explains your expression when Vek found out. And why you didn't want anyone to know about it. But then why are you telling us now?"

Ardeth laughed. "You just saw what is left of Hamunaptra, did you not? No sign of the Creature. That happened almost seventy years ago, and the world is still around, is it not?"

"But how did that happen? How did you eliminate the threat Imhotep posed?" Jonas asked.

At this, Rick grimaced, squirming in his seat a little.

"Ask my brother that." Ardeth said dryly, rolling his eyes a little. "I wasn't there either time—the first time, I was dealing with the other mummies, and the second time, I was dealing with Anubis' armies."

Rick felt Jonas' and Daniel's eyes on him. "My wife raised him the first time. Stupid Book of the Dead! I told her not to play around with that thing. But she managed to find the Book of Amun Ra and banish his soul to the underworld so that he was a mortal. Then I killed him. The second time, his reincarnated girlfriend brought him back. When she abandoned him, he let himself be pulled into a pit by these wierd-looking demon thingies. Almost got dragged down myself. But he's gone for good now." Here he turned and looked at Ardeth. "He is, right? Permanently dead?"

"As far as I know. Both books were destroyed, so we shouldn't have any more problems with him." Ardeth told him, rolling his eyes a little.

Rick sighed in relief. Every once in a while he would check with his brother on this, because he had thought it was all over the first time he had killed Imhotep.

Jack chuckled. "So your bad guys have a semi-dead thing going too?"

Rick groaned in reply shaking his head. "Unfortunately. I hate mummies!"

"And you never got scratched by one—be very glad you avoided that experience!"

Rick shook his head, his blood running cold at the memory. "Watching you go through it was horrific enough." He closed his eyes. Though the event Ardeth spoke of had happened between seventy and eighty years ago, the memory was still as vivid in his mind as it was the day it had happened. Never in his life had he seen Ardeth in so much pain, and he never wanted to see him like that again.

"You're not having flashbacks to that again, are you? Come on, my brother—that was decades ago. I had hoped that you would forget it by now."

Rick looked at his brother seriously. "No. I haven't forgotten. But you're still here and that's all that matters." Then he shook his head. "I'm surprised you don't have flashbacks! Watching it is one thing, but experiencing it?" He looked at Ardeth confused.

"Oh, I do, but I use the bond to bring me out of them." Ardeth told him.

“I didn’t know the bond could do that,” Rick said shaking his head. “Even after a hundred years, I still don’t know everything about this connection we share.”

Ardeth smiled at him. “You still haven’t explored it very much. But then, every time you do, you get lost and I have to dig you out of our minds.”

Rick laughed. "Yeah, it gets really confusing in there sometimes. More twists and turns then the passageways beneath Hamunaptra and that's saying something."

"I made the labyrinth just for you, my brother," Ardeth told Rick with a grin, then turned back to Daniel and Jonas. "Any other questions?"

Daniel eagerly began to ask Ardeth as many questions as he could think of about the Med-jai and they're culture down through the millennia, furiously scribbling every detail the king gave him into a notepad he had pulled from his supply pack.

Jack shook his head at the archaeologist. "Daniel put that thing away. You're gonna get car sick!”

The king suddenly frowned. "To get back to SGC, we will have to take an airplane, correct?" He asked, and sighed heavily at the affirmative answer. "What is it with you Americans and flying?"

Rick tried in vain to stifle his laughter. "Ardeth, not all plane or dirigible rides end in crashes. Besides, how else are we gonna get back to the states? We can't exactly swim for it."

"I could try that transportation spell I found last week." Ardeth said, then thought about it and sighed. "No, I suppose that won't work—a little too far."

Jonas shrugged. "We could use the Asgard beaming technology," he suggested.

Rick turned and gave the man a quizzical glance. "'Beaming'? What's that?"

"Asgard . . . that sounds familiar. Maybe from one of the ancient books we found last year? The ones in the strange language that took forever to figure out?"

Daniel turned to a page close to the beginning of his notebook and showed it to Ardeth. "This is a picture of what their runes look like."

"Mystery? Why do you have the word for mystery in your notebook?" Ardeth asked, after glancing at the page.

Daniel glanced at the picture. "This must have been on e of the earlier translations I did. One of the planets we visited was like a Mecca for four main space-faring races. It was a place where they could come and exchange ideas on the meaning of life in the universe."

Jack scoffed. "I remember that. That was the translation you almost died for!"

"Well, maybe the next time the group of you receives a vacation, you could send word to me, and come visit our home." Ardeth offered, flashing a slight grin at Rick.

Daniel and Jonas immediately accepted his offer. Teal'c, Sam and Jacob were eager to accept his invitation as well. Only Jack seemed hesitant. "Your home wouldn't happen to be like any of the sacred sites that you guard is it?"

At that, the Med-jai laughed out loud. "No, my friend. Kiriyah Gan is our safe haven away from the duty we bear."

"Great," Jack said, obviously relieved. "Then I would be honored to come."

"Just send word when you are able to come, and we will have everything ready." Ardeth promised, sighing softly and leaning back in the car.

Daniel assured the king that he would. Within a few hours they reached the airport. Rick carried the young Ardeth over to the jet that was waiting for them.

Ardeth gently picked up the young Rick, making certain he was still unconscious, and restrained, and brought him over. He was grumbling about Americans being unable to keep their feet on the ground again.

Rick shook his head as he set the prince down in the seat on the jet. He supposed it really was his fault that Ardeth hated planes in the first place. The first time he had gotten on a plane he had been having a ball, even though he was strapped to the wing of that rickety old biplane. And everything was fine until Imhotep had created that sandstorm and attacked the plane with it. Rick grimaced. Yeah, not a fun day, he thought to himself.

Once everyone was loaded in, the plane took off. This one was fairly luxurious, but Ardeth still grumbled when he looked out the window and saw how high up they were.

The older Rick looked over at him. ‘Come on, buddy. Stop doing that,’ he said through their bond. ‘You know you’re just torturing yourself.’ He reached over and pulled the shade down on the window they were sitting next to.

“I am going to sleep,” Ardeth announced, after figuring out how to get his seat to lean back. “Wake me when we arrive back on the ground!”

"I will," Rick said nodding. SG-1 and Jacob were all sitting comfortably though both Jack and Teal'c were keeping an eye on the younger version of himself, their zats drawn and resting on their laps. Rick sighed heavily before turning to see how the younger Ardeth was faring.

The boy was awake now, and staring sleepily around the plane. He refocused on Rick, and blinked hard. "I don't think I’m going to be able to get used to this."

Rick bowed his head trying to stifle his laughter at the irony of the boy's statement. He thought about suggesting that the boy might like it if he were strapped to the wing of a biplane in flight, but if he did he knew the older Ardeth would kill him. "You have always preferred riding on horses," he said instead.

"Horses are natural. This thing is not!" Ardeth said, sitting up straighter and stretching.

Rick chuckled. "Perhaps, but I don't think even your steed could swim across the Atlantic Ocean."

"Probably not," Ardeth conceded, glancing at the young Rick cautiously. He wanted to help his brother, but didn't know how.

The older man caught his glance and a small smile spread across his face. He spoke to the prince through their bond. 'He'll be alright. He's frustrated that he's being used by that snake and was afraid you didn't get his warning in time, but he'll be alright.'

Sighing and forcing himself to relax a little, the boy nodded. 'Well, he has to be, since you're fine and you're all grown up,' he said, with a slight grin, then turned to study his adult self. 'When did I become king?'

‘That's the future. Are you sure you want me to tell you?’ he asked remembering even now, the way Ardeth had reacted when as his younger self he had thought about trying to find out from Daniel what had happened to the Museum of Antiquities the year the mummy had been unleashed.

'No, I suppose not. I just hope we have many, many more years with Father.' Ardeth said, watching as Jack started jiggling his leg, bored of sitting still already.

Rick smiled. It had been a sad day for both of them when the king had passed away. It hadn't been a year later that that the mummy had been raised and then destroyed the first time. But he pushed that thought instantly from his mind not wanting Ardeth to pick up on it. Instead, he focused on the pleasant memories he and Ardeth had shared giving his father no end of trouble. These thought he allowed to seep through their bond, hoping that the feeling would give his younger brother some reassurance since he was so far from home and hurting in more ways than one.

At the feelings of warm memories, the boy relaxed even more. 'How long is it going to take us to get back to SGC?'

'Four to five hours,' Rick replied. 'You should probably get some more rest. After all, you've had a long week.'

The boy grimaced. 'A very long week. I still can't believe I revealed the location of Hamunaptra to them!'

Rick frowned as he looked at his brother. 'You didn't!' he said firmly. 'You can't blame yourself for this. You resisted no matter what they threw at you and you helped me to stay strong. You did not break,' he assured him. It broke his heart to see that his brother still thought himself at fault for the NID discovering their secret. He shook his head as he met his eyes. "You did not break. Vek tortured us and then read your mind. No one could prevent that no matter how they trained for it."

'I understand that, but I still feel as though I should be stronger—I am the prince of the Med-jai. I've had more training than most Med-jai ever.'

Rick looked down at the floor, his expression dark. 'The symbiote that's inside me right now has used this technology for centuries to torture the strongest and greatest beings in the universe. There is nothing any of them have been able to do to resist it. Even the beings with thousands of years of training. But I can assure you that you have never compromised the secrets our people keep. Not even from during the span of our lives. You are stronger than all of us. You just don't realize it yet.'

'Thank you, Rick. That helps,' Ardeth told him, with a smile, hiding a yawn.

Rick looked up at Ardeth and returned the smile. "Get some rest. Don't worry, I wake both of you when we touch down."

The boy nodded and curled up some on the seat, favoring his still sore injuries as best as he could. It didn't take long for him to fall asleep.


	22. Chapter 22

Once Rick felt Ardeth fall into a deep sleep, he used the bond to cast a few more healing spells on him, glad that now he was finally able to return the favor. A little winded from the exertion, he leaned his head back processing the whole situation again in his mind. Word couldn't begin to describe how bizarre it felt to relive this situation. He turned to look at the older Ardeth and wondered if the king felt the same way. But then he looked over at SG-1 and Jacob. There they all were looking exactly as he remembered them, which made perfect sense given the situation, but still felt so odd.

Jacob came to sit next to him. "So, tell me, how are the Med-jai doing in this time?"

Rick smiled. “We are doing well, especially without having to worry about guarding Hamunaptra any more. Ardeth has been a great king to our people and has brought us through some very trying times. We are thriving surprisingly enough despite how small the world has grown in these past hundred years. Kiriyah Gan and the protected sites are still secrets kept safely from the world at large. I must say that my son Alex and his wife find it hilarious some of the histories and legends that modern-day archaeologists have some up with to explain the gaps in their knowledge of the past, especially in regards to Ancient Egypt.”

“I can only imagine. Selmak is having great fun sorting through my memories of some of the legends and figuring which ones are related to the Med-jai. You do realize that he considers you all as his descendants now?”

Rick raised an eyebrow, a crooked smile beginning to creep onto his face. It had always been a source of great amusement to him how he had gone from having absolutely no family before he met Ardeth and became a Med-jai to inheriting a legacy. "Wow. So what was Selmak's position in Seti's palace? He must have been pretty tight with the guy for Seti to let him train his own army."

"Selmak was best friends with Seti, his chief advisor and bodyguard. He knew that he would be unable to remain on earth for too long but knew that there are many threats that humanity needed to be defended against." Jacob told Rick, smiling.

Rick listened, intrigued that Selmak was so concerned about their race. He found he was glad that he and Ardeth had met Selmak before he had been implanted. He had become embittered towards the creature that had possessed him and he didn't realize it but it was slightly reassuring that not all of their kind were evil. "So when is the last time he was here?"

Jacob tipped his head slightly, eyes going unfocused as he talked with the Tok'ra. "Selmak was summoned off of earth some months before the events that you know about that led to Seti's death.

Rick grimaced. "He must have been close friends with Seti. That couldn't have been easy news to receive."

"It was a very difficult time for Selmak. It was even more difficult because he could not return to say goodbye, and never heard what happened with the Med-jai. Actually, his adopted son was one of the Med-jai chieftains at that time."

"Maybe when this is over we could find out for you. There's an extensive chronicle in the library at Kiriyah Gan that Ardeth's father left behind. My wife Evy loves pour over it at any chance she gets. Ardeth may even be able to tell you what happened to him when he wakes up. Sometimes I swear he has all the history of our people memorized by heart. He can recite legends at the drop of a hat and he's very good at it."

Jacob laughed. "That sounds very much like certain other young men I know," he commented, glancing over his shoulder at Daniel and Jonas.

Rick stifled his laughter. "Yeah, no kidding! You should see the 'ancient script' we had him translating before we got swiped," he murmured with a wicked glint in his eyes.

"What's this?" The man asked, eyebrow raised, obviously guessing that some prank had happened.

Rick shrugged. "Ardeth and I were trying to keep from getting bored or from going stir-crazy from being confined to quarters under a mountain. So we 'discovered' an ancient text for him to translate. It has nothing to do with Sokar and I'm guessing by the way he's examining the last sheet we gave him that he still hasn't figured it out."

The other man discreetly looked over Daniel's shoulder at the sheet, and his eyes widened. "I recognize quite a few languages in there. How did you two do that?"

"Ardeth is also an incredible linguist," Rick said with a sly grin, quite proud of his brother.

"I'm certainly impressed. Selmak could figure out those languages, but he's been around for thousands of years. And you two did this when you were what, fifteen?"

"I was fifteen but Ardeth was fourteen," Rick shook his head in amusement. "Man, it doesn't seem that long ago," he looked at their younger selves, "especially when I'm beside myself." He held up his well polished rifle comparing his own reflection to how he looked at fifteen.

"You do realize that everyone at SGC is going to be trying to recruit you two, don't you?" Jacob asked, settling back in his seat.

Rick laughed at this. "Ironic considering about a hundred years ago Ardeth was trying to recruit them. Ardeth will be pleased. I'm sure at the very least we're going to be allies, but I don't know how Evy would take the idea of my going to other planets." Rick thought about how such a proposal would go and how she would react. Alex would be thrilled and dying to come along and both Evy and Lin would try to ground them.

"Who is Evy?" Jacob asked, watching as Daniel started babbling about something to Jonas, gesturing wildly.

"Evy's my wife. She and I knew each other as kids, and we met up again later, though she didn't recognize me. Considering her opinion of me in the past, I had thought it best to leave it that way. She actually ended up raising Imhotep and then helped us to defeat him. Afterwards we got married. She's been with me through all my adventures, even turned the first two into books and she still puts up with me." He smiled as he thought of her fondly. "We actually found out in 1933 that she's Nefertiri, Seti's daughter, reincarnated. Though it took me a little while to buy that."

"Seti's daughter, reincarnated? Fascinating. Selmak will definitely want to meet with her—she may well remember him."

Rick nodded. "She very well may. Ever since then she's had memories of that life slowly coming back to her. She said it was the strangest experience, like living someone's life through a dream. Never having done those things but still feeling them and hearing them."

"I suppose that would be somewhat similar to what the Tok'ra experience." Jacob murmured quietly. "After a while, we share memories with each other."

"Exactly," Rick said shaking his head. "She had no idea how much her statement scared me. Because it sounded so similar to what I had experienced when I was implanted, at first I was afraid one of the goa'uld had taken her. But I couldn't sense a goa’uld in her, and she was still herself, though I definitely kept a closer eye on her for a while to make sure it wasn't an act."

"Reincarnation is rare—very rare. I am actually quite surprised that it happened on earth."

Rick nodded. "I had been surprised too, and didn't believe it at first, but Ardeth was right. There were too many circumstances in place to be coincidence. But don't tell him I said that. He'll never let me live it down," he whispered watching his brother out of the corner of his eye to be sure he was still sleeping.

"I take it this was a source of debate between the two of you?" Jacob asked, coughing to hide a laugh as Jack started pacing, unable to stay sitting any longer.

"Yeah. After my parent died, I guess I became somewhat of a skeptic. Plenty of people of the streets of Cairo will readily take advantage of the naive. I couldn't trust anyone in order to survive. And once that becomes your mentality it's hard to change especially on matters that seem to be common knowledge and everyday occurrences for the Med-jai." He gave a rueful chuckle. "You would think I would get used to it a little more quickly."

Jacob laughed. "I have heard interesting stories about some of the new recruits to the SGC that were unable to handle everything. There are certainly many . . . unusual occurrences."

"I believe it," Rick chuckled, then he turned to Selmak with a look of his child-like curiousity surfacing on his face, the rare look that was slightly reminiscent of his fifteen year old self. "So, how many planets have you seen?"

"Me, or Selmak?" Jacob asked, chuckling at Rick's expression.

Rick smiled slightly. "Both."

"I have been to a few dozen since Selmak and I joined. Selmak has been to thousands of worlds. He is, after all, quite elderly."

"Whoa," Rick breathed. Traveling off-world at all blew his mind. He couldn't even begin to process thousands of worlds. "Are they all like Earth?"

"No, there are a great many differences. You could possibly convince Jack to allow you to go to the Alpha site."

Rick pondered the possibility, his mouth watering at the opportunity to see a new world. He would definitely have to pass his suggestion on to Ardeth, though he knew that timing could be an issue. It would be just their luck to leave and either something happening off-world or at one of the sacred sites while they were gone.

"Someone needs to drug Jack. He'll be a nervous wreck after being confined in a plane for so long."

Rick laughed. "Man, he and Ardeth will definitely be able to commiserate once we land." Jack was looking anxiously out the window and his features seemed to relax slightly. Rick stood carefully trying not to wake Ardeth and moved over to an open window. The plane was coming in for a landing. Rick chuckled and shook his head. "This is nothing. He should have flown with Winston, Izzy, or even Mad Dog!" he said quietly to Jacob

"Various pilots you have flown with?" Jacob asked, absently studying the marks on the faces of both Ardeths.

"Various madmen I've flown with," Rick murmured as he walked over to wake his brothers. He stopped though considering if he should wait until the plane had come to a complete stop. He decided this would probably be the best move since Ardeth had never had a good experience with landings. He sat down and buckled his seat belt.

"You aren't going to wake them up?" Jacob buckled his own seatbelt, quickly as the plane jolted a little.

Rick's face scrunched up slightly. "Not yet. Ardeth would never forgive me. He's never really had good experiences with the planes we've flown in before, particularly their landings. I'll wait until we're stopped."

"That does sound wise."

Once the plane had touched down and slowed to a stop Rick spoke through the bond. ‘We’re here. The plane’s landed.’ He watched both Ardeths looking to see if they would both respond to his words.

‘What’s wrong?’ The older Ardeth demanded, snapping awake at the words through the bond, and looking around, trying to determine if there was a threat around and where it was coming from. The younger Ardeth didn’t stir.

Rick looked at the king and smiled reassuringly. "Nothing's wrong, for a change. We've landed."

"Oh, excellent. I'll take the young you if you'll wake me up," The Med-jai king said, standing and stretching--airplane seats are not comfortable to sleep in.

"Sure," Rick said nodding and moving to wake the younger Ardeth. He took a moment beforehand to see how well his injuries were healing, knowing the boy would be annoyed if he saw him doing this when he awoke. Satisfied that they were healing well, he knelt by Ardeth's chair. "Hey, buddy," he said as he gently shook his uninjured shoulder.

The boy's eyes snapped open, and he grabbed for his scimitar, panicking slightly. He calmed down when he realized that he wasn't bound, and it was Rick leaning over him, though.

Rick had been ready though and didn't flinch at the prince's movements. "Whoa, calm down, it's me.... the older me," he added knowing that his younger self wasn't exactly an ally at this moment. But once he could see that Ardeth had recognized who he was he handed the boy a scimitar. "To hold you over until we get back to the base and get yours back."

Feeling the familiar weight of the weapon, Ardeth sighed in relief, neatly sheathing it in his belt. "Thank you," he said. He hid a yawn and stretched carefully, checking to see how stiff and sore he was.

"Anytime," he said smiling. "You doing okay?" he asked wanting to make sure he knew which injuries might be bothering him in particular before he picked him up to carry him off the plane.

The boy shrugged his uninjured shoulder. "I'll be fine. I just need a bit of time to get my strength back."

"Good," Rick said as he proceeded picked the prince up and climb carefully down the small fold out staircase on the jet throwing a last glance to make sure the young Rick was still sedated from the spell his brother had cast. But he knew even if the boy had awaked, Ardeth could handle him.

"Rick, I am perfectly capable of walking. Put me down!" Ardeth protested, obviously frustrated at being carried. He also didn't quite know how to deal with his brother as an adult and much older than he was.

"Need I remind you of our agreement in Egypt about healers?" he asked pointedly cocking his eyebrow at his brother.

"Which agreement was that?" The boy asked innocently, trying to hide a grin.

Rick only tilted his head and gave Ardeth a withering glance in reply.

With a sigh, the boy didn't say anything else. Jack burst out of the plane, thrilled to have room to move around again. The rest of SG-1 also left the plane, heading towards the military vehicles waiting for them.

"Wow Jack," Daniel chuckled shaking his head. "With the way you pace on a plane it's a wonder you can stand being in fighter jets or death gliders."

"Hey, there's no comparison! At least in a fighter I'm shooting down the bad guys and doing something. I hate having to just sit there!" Jack groused.

Daniel had to agree with him there. Teal'c cocked his eyebrow as he walked after his fashion. He had thought that the flight had been a relaxing reprieve after the mission and then the hunt for the rogue NID that had kidnapped the boys, but he knew better than to say so.

The adult Ardeth emerged from the plane moments later, carrying the sedated and bound young Rick. He was careful not to hurt his brother, but also not give him any chances to wake up and cause trouble.

Major Davis was waiting a short ways off with their escort back to the SGC. "SG-1, Jacob, General Hammond’s eager to see you and is glad to hear that the boys have been recovered safely.

Jack winced as he took off his cap. "Yeah, about that, we're not quite out of the woods yet," he groaned as he climbed into one of the cars.

Davis sighed softly. With SG-1, that could mean anything. "What happened?" he asked, resigned.

"The young Rick O'Connell has been taken as a host by a goa'uld symbiote," Teal'c explained as he climbed into the car the older Rick standing behind him with his brother in his arms.

"Yeah, not a fun day as you might imagine," O'Connell scoffed.

“That does complicate matters. Alright, let’s get back to base. There’re a lot of people very eager to find out what happened.” Davis told them, sliding a pair of sunglasses on.

Carter scoffed slightly. "Well, I think this will be one of our more colorful tales."

"Yes, we have a few of those, don't we Carter?" Jack commented cocking his head to the side.

"Just a few, sir," Carter grinned back at Jack, and the team quickly got into the vehicles, not liking being in the open on the airfield.

Rick looked over at the older Ardeth. "How much longer do you think we have before I wake up?" he asked, concerned with whether or not they would make it back to base in time.

"I'm not certain—probably not more than an hour, though. Will we be back at the base by then?" the adult Ardeth asked.

Carter nodded. "Yes. Fortunately, the air field isn't too far from the SGC."

"Excellent." Ardeth lay the young Rick across the seats, making certain that his bound arms weren't being pulled or strained, then buckled him in. Even if he did wake up early, he would find it difficult to move at all.

Rick watched the boy carefully. It would be close. He could already see the rapid eye movements indicating deep sleep were already beginning to slow slightly. "We'll need to secure him pretty quick after we get there."

"I'll call ahead and have a team standing by, ready to secure him," Davis promised, settling next to the driver and pulling out his phone.

Rick nodded, satisfied. The wait was excruciating before the snow-covered Cheyenne Mountain loomed in the distance. Rick chuckled slightly as they drove into the cave, remembering their snowball fight before all this had happened. "And that day had started off so well."

"What day?" The young Ardeth asked, from the seat right next to Rick. He was pouting slightly about being carried and manhandled around.

"The day the NID nabbed us," Rick answered. "But then again, they always seem to start that way, don't they?" he mused.

"Generally, yes." Both Ardeths said at the same time, amusing everyone in the vehicle.

Soon the vehicle came to a stop, drenched in the shadows of the heavily guarded cave. Everyone piled out and headed towards the elevator leading down into the mountain.

By now the young Rick was definitely stirring, moving his head from side to side, trying to shake off the sleep spell. Ardeth held him firmly, and lengthened his stride.

The second the elevator stopped they all piled out running at a full tilt, several guards and Dr. Frasier waiting for them at the end of the hallway. Davis had briefed her ahead of time and she was aware of the danger that the young O'Connell posed to them all. Taking in the situation in a moment, she immediately began to lead them to the isolation room.

The jarring of the near-sprint broke through the last bits of the sleep spell. 'Rick, keep my younger self back, well out of sight.' The Med-jai king ordered through the bond.

Rick did as Ardeth instructed and remained behind as SG-1 split up. Teal'c and Jack accompanied Ardeth into the main hold of the isolation room, while Sam, Jonas, and Daniel went into the observation room. Rick watched them go for a second before turning with the prince to go in another direction.


	23. Chapter 23

The goua'old woke up completely just as they got into the isolation room, and started fighting as soon as he realized he was bound.

Teal'c and Jack's zats were out and they immediately aimed for the young Rick. The goa'uld's eyes blazed in arrogant indignation. "Release me!" he yelled.

"Be still, or you will find yourself in great pain," Ardeth warned, as he wrestled the younger version of his brother into the chair.

At this, the goa'uld smiled cruelly, a disturbing look to seemingly light Rick's face. "You wouldn't cause your brother pain, especially after all he's already been through," he purred for a moment before he continued to thrash with the full efforts of his enhanced strength.

"Very well, then." Ardeth let go of Rick and stepped back so that Teal'c and Jack had a clear shot.

Jack fired at the goa'uld who groaned in pain, momentarily stunned from the blow. Rick lay for the moment curled up on the chair, unmoving.

Ardeth hurried forward and took off the ropes, pushing the goa'uld into the chair and buckling the restraints. 'I am sorry, my brother,' he thought silently, as he continued to work.

"No problem," Rick grated out, voice normal again as he winced. Rick had surfaced though he didn't seem to realize he was getting through.

"Hold on, Rick. You'll be free soon," Ardeth promised, smiling at his brother.

Rick could only nod weakly. As Ardeth finished buckling the straps, the boy's face strained again. Eyes glowing, the goa'uld pushed Rick back down as he growled at the king and fought against his restraints with a renewed fury. "Release me!" he repeated the command.

The Med-jai king backed away after double-checking all of the straps. "No, Creature. You will not be released," he said firmly.

"Insolence! You will be punished for your defiance!" the goa'uld spat in his altered voice. "I order you to set me free, or I will show you no mercy."

Jack scoffed. "Oh please, don't you guys ever quit with the all-powerful bit? Who's strapped to a table right now?"

The boy glared at him. "And I hold the one you seek to save. You are not in a position to demand anything of me."

"Your control over my brother is not complete." Ardeth said suddenly, standing tall and letting a little of the power of his aura show. "My brother is strong, and you are having a great deal of difficulty subduing him."

"You forget how weak the NID's methods have left him and the strain that restoring your life put on his body," he said smugly. "Though he resists, he cannot hold out for much longer. I must say the power you both have is intoxicating. Imagine the world's I will be able to conquer with the abilities of a Med-jai magic user. And one of the royal family." The goa'uld's smile was ruthless. "I guess I should thank you for teaching my host these incredible abilities. I shall enjoy exploring the use of his talent to its full potential. Your brother will lay waste to entire systems before I am through with him."

Ardeth's smile was a little smug as he remembered how these events had played out when he was fourteen. "You may think that if you wish, but I swear to you, it will not happen."

The goa'uld did not give any outward sign, but he wondered at this man's confidence. After a second he attributed it to underestimating his abilities. "You are a foolish Tauri indeed if you think for one moment that you can save your brother. Nothing of the host survives once we have taken hold. He hasn't got much time left. He belongs to me now."

"You should sleep." Ardeth told the goa'uld, layering power in his voice—enough that even though the spell was directed at the goa'uld, Jack and Teal'c felt very tired.

The goa'uld tried to resist but after moment sunk deep into the chair, his body limp in his restraints. "You like to use that spell on me a lot, don't you?" an amused voice came from the doorway.

With a quiet laugh, Ardeth turned to look at Rick. "Yes, well, it works—and it ensures that you receive enough sleep."

Rick nodded, conceding the point. "Hey after the trip with the goon squad, I'll take it." He walked into the room keeping watch over himself out of the corner of his eye. "Well, I gave .... you a scimitar and left you in our room after I healed a few more of your injuries, though you were none too happy about it. I figured there at least you wouldn't have to watch this process more than once."

At that, Ardeth's smile grew a little. He decided not to comment. He was both surprised and amused that Rick underestimated his younger self enough to leave him alone in a room with no information about what was happening.

Rick saw the subtle change in Ardeth's expression and groaned. "Oh, no. What did you do?" he demanded giving the king an exasperated look.

"Me? I am doing nothing," Ardeth told him, doing his best to contain his smirk. "Let us leave this room while he is still asleep."

"You know what I mean, pal!" Rick insisted as he followed his brother out of the room.

Just at that moment, they heard Daniel's confused voice drift distantly and unintentionally through the microphone of the observation room: "How did you get up here?"

Ardeth snickered. "You really ought to know better than to leave me alone, my brother. After all, you more than anyone else know what I am capable of."

"I knew I should have just duct-taped you to the bed. Though somehow, I doubt that would have worked either," Rick groaned. "If you were gonna see all that anyways why did you order me to take you away and keep you out of sight?"

The king shrugged. "There are parts that I didn't see, and unfortunately, a lot that I wish I hadn't seen."

Rick shook his head. "You are almost as troublesome as Alex. ...Of course, he did kind of get it from me... but that's beside the point." He turned and opened the door to the observation room and glared in exasperation at the prince. "Have I ever told you two how much of a handful you are at times?"

Young Ardeth blinked innocently at him. "I think I'm a little more than a handful," he commented, from where he was sitting next to Daniel.

"I stand corrected," Rick conceded as he motioned for the younger Ardeth to come out. "Come on. You don't need to be seeing this. You said so yourself." Here he pointed at the older Ardeth.

"No, I can stay until the procedure begins. All there is to see is you sleeping, which is hardly an unusual occurrence."

"But still very dangerous as you are well aware. I may not be armed now, but in this condition I don't have to be," Rick commented. "Besides it never stays this calm for long."

"That is true." Ardeth went and sat in the observation room, watching young Rick carefully.

Rick glared at the king. "You're not helping."

"I'm not helping? You wound me, my brother! Were you planning on letting the younger me pass out from hunger, by the way?"

"Will he come quietly to the mess hall?" he asked quirking an eyebrow and looking at the younger Ardeth.

The boy looked at him. "Are you planning on carrying me, or letting me walk?"

Rick gave his leg a cursory glance. "I think it should be safe for you to walk by now."

"Then I will go quietly, so long as you promise not to drug me or try to make me go to sleep, or lock me up."

"As long as you cooperate, but if you try and sneak off again, young man, I'm not making any promises," Rick said sternly. He shook his head as he remembered a particular day when he was scolding Alex for sneaking out of the house and wreaking havoc at the British museum.

The boy rolled his eyes, but nodded. "Very well." He agreed, and stood, eager to get some food.

"Let us know if anything changes," Rick told the older Ardeth before he headed off with the younger. "Listen I'm not trying to coddle you, but trust me there are some things in there that you just don't want to see." And some things that I don't want you to see, he admitted to himself. He still shuddered at some of the words that had spilled from his mouth when the goa'uld had suppressed him.

"I can understand that, but Rick needs me. He needs to feel that I’m near, and supporting him, so that he doesn't give up to the creature."

Rick sighed. He could tell he wasn't going to win on this one and he knew Ardeth's words were true. If he hadn't sensed him near, he wasn't sure he would have had the strength to resist a long as he had. "I'll take you back for the extraction process but I don't want to take any chances. If anything happens to you, there won't be any chance for me to resist this guy. You need to play it safe and stay in the observation room. Okay?" he asked as they entered the commissary.

Ardeth nodded. "Very well." The boy joined the food line immediately, desperate for some good food.

Rick also grabbed a tray with two plates, one of which he intended to take back to the older version of his brother once they headed back. "Right now, Selmak's trying to get the equipment from his current homeworld they will use to do the extraction."

"Excellent. I want that thing out of you! It was so disturbing when I felt your aura change—and the creature was using the bond to pretend to be you."

Rick nodded, remembering how trapped he had felt. "I'm glad you saw through it. I was worried he might use me to betray or kill you. Thank goodness he didn't get the chance." He took the plates overflowing with food and started to head over to a table.

Ardeth followed him, favoring his leg slightly but otherwise moving normally.

Rick sat down and dove into his food just about the same way his younger self did when he was extremely hungry. "I swear, if your older self keeps casting that spell on me, one of these days he's going to inadvertently put me right into a coma," he commented after swallowing his food.

"How is that possible?" Ardeth asked, also eating quickly. He was extremely grateful for the food after everything that had happened.

"It isn't but it feels like it sometimes," he said with a grin. He looked over at Ardeth. "Sure beats bread and jerky, doesn't it?” he asked indicating the food. “I think we just about banned it from meal times when we got back. Gen found that highly amusing."

The boy laughed. "I like that idea. Yes, I'm sure Gen will find it amusing, but I'd rather put up with his laughter than that food again!"

"I'm with you on that," Rick agreed as he finished polishing off his plate.

Just then, the klaxon started blaring about an unscheduled off-world activation. The two Med-jai exchanged a glance, then hurried back to the observation room.

Rick and the prince came flying out of the mess hall almost bowling over Jonas who had been on his way to go get them. "What's the news?" Rick asked as he caught Jonas from falling.

"Jacob and Selmak just got back with the extraction equipment. They'll be down here in a few minutes," the young alien told them.

Rick nodded as Jonas fell in step beside them heading back to the observation room.

The goa'uld was still asleep. Ardeth and Daniel were deep in a discussion about the intricacies of the Med-jai language.

Rick looked firmly at the younger Ardeth as they entered, the meaning in his eyes clear. He didn't want to have to tell Ardeth to stay put, but then again he hadn't thought it was necessary the first time.

The boy rolled his eyes and settled on a chair next to Daniel. As soon as he was sitting, his eyes fastened on the sleeping form of Rick, and he gently pushed at the bond, hoping to reach his brother and not the creature.

Rick stirred slightly, his hand almost moving in his sleep to swat away whoever was disturbing him but not making it far because of the restraints.

"Oops," Ardeth whispered, glancing around to see if anyone had noticed.

But the adults seemed all too busy talking about how they were going to proceed. Though it seemed for a second as if the adult Rick ducked his head as he usually did when he was hiding a smile.

Moments later, Jacob arrived, with the extraction equipment. He was slightly surprised to see the young Rick asleep again, but decided to take advantage of it.

"Ok, people," he started as he began unloading the equipment he brought with him, "we need to do this fast before he wakes up again." Teal'c and Jack were moving to help him set up for the procedure.

"What do you need us to do?" the adult Ardeth asked, coming forward to see if his help was needed at all.

"Double check his bindings," Selmak instructed. "We don't want him to break loose during the extraction. Jack, is this chair he's in adjustable?" Jack nodded. "We need to position it to where he's in an upright position." Selmak turned back to Ardeth. “I'll also need you to keep an eye on him. If he wakes up before we're ready he could figure out what we're doing and poison his host just to keep himself from going down alone." The Tok'ra's eyes seemed to hold personal experience to attest to this.

The man nodded, and glanced over his shoulder at where he knew his younger self was sitting. "Keep the bond wide open, and be alert," He said quietly, then set about double checking the straps.

Teal'c helped Selmak to build the device they used to extract symbiotes. By the time they had finished, it looked like a tall pole, with an arm that telescoped outward mounted on the top of it. On the end of the arm aimed at Rick what looked like a large hypodermic on the end. Once Jack positioned the chair, Selmak began to adjust the arm so that it was level with Rick's forehead. In the meantime, Rick's breathing had changed subtly and his eyes had stopped moving behind his eyelids.

The adult Ardeth stepped back, eyes sad. He hated to put both Ricks and his younger self through what was going to happen, but history could not be changed. Silently, he prepared a spell to prevent the adult Rick from moving and interfering.

As Jacob finished placing a vice around the boy's head to keep it from moving, Rick's eyes snapped open. Jack immediately raised his zat aiming for Rick. "No!" Jacob said pushing his arm back down. "This is a very delicate procedure. A neural disruption that powerful so close to an extraction would kill both symbiote and host!" he explained quickly.

"Extraction!" Rick spat. "It you even attempt it, I will kill the boy. His body belongs to me now, and no one will presume to take it from me! Not even a Tok'ra and his pet!"

At that, Selmak took control. "You are in the body of one of my Med-jai, goa'uld. You will not be allowed to remain!"

"Then you can pry me from his corpse," the goa'uld spat. He turned and looked viciously at Ardeth. "I hope you enjoy watching your brother die."

Ardeth met the goa'uld's eyes steadily, his own fierce and proud, but sad. Even as he heard the scrambling as the people in the observation room ran to get down here, Ardeth made certain that the adult Rick was frozen in place in a corner.

The guards piled in, their semi-automatics raised but their was very little they could do to stop the goa'uld. The young Rick's eyes were still fixed on Ardeth blazing with fury, but his face began to pale and his breathing was becoming gradually more labored.

Selmak quickly secured the device to the floor so that it couldn't be stopped or knocked over. He quickly activated the device, praying that it wouldn't be too late. The arm slowly extended forward, the needle growing closer to the boy's forehead.

The younger Ardeth came hurrying in, and grabbed Rick's hand, pouring healing energy into Rick, trying to get rid of the poison.

Rick's hand grasped Ardeth's wrist. Daniel rushed forward to try and pull the prince away, afraid that the goa'uld would make a last ditch effort to injure the boy or free himself. But as he got closer, he saw that his grasp on Ardeth's hand was not hurting him or trying to draw him closer, but simply clinging to him.

The needle pierced Rick forehead and both Rick and the goa'uld with in him cried out in pain as with a burst of light the technology of the device drew the symbiote out of Rick O'Connell and into the chamber attached to the needle.

Shivering, the young prince kept on sending healing through the bond, whispering all of the spells he knew to remove poison. As the needle retracted, the young Rick slumped in his bonds.


	24. Chapter 24

Selmak rushed over to check Rick’s vitals. He hung his head, then turned to look at the others. "His pulse is very weak. Only time will tell if he survives the toxin."

"He will survive." Ardeth told them, not giving up his hold on Rick's hands. "The brother of my soul brought me back from death—there is no way I will allow him to be taken from me before it is time!"

Selmak nodded. He wanted Ardeth to continue thinking so. He knew it would give both boy's strength. But then they both were magic users. And as he looked up he could see that the older Rick was still there. Though he knew that if the younger Rick did die, the older one would simply cease to exist, in truth would not have existed beyond that point. But Rick had brought Ardeth back from the dead, so Jacob allowed himself to be more hopeful in this diagnosis then he would have with others.

The adult Ardeth stepped forward. "Come, let us leave them alone." He released the spell on Rick and left the room, so that his brother would feel compelled to come find him and scold him.

The room cleared leaving the two boys to themselves. Jack had adjusted the chair to where Rick wouldn’t be hanging from the straps when he awoke. Dr. Frasier with some coaxing from the colonel agreed to give them a while before she insisted on checking on Rick’s vitals periodically. The silence in the room was almost deafening after what had just happened. Rick’s fingers were still firmly clasped around Ardeth’s wrist, all of his muscles still taught from the strain.

Ardeth stayed next to his brother, shaking slightly. The bond had been open so wide he had felt the poison as it began to flood Rick’s system as though it was going through his own veins. Now he was coming off of an adrenaline high from Rick’s life being in danger, and from using his powers again. At least he had seen his adult self, so he knew he hadn’t inflicted permanent damage on himself from using magic so often.

After a while Rick's eyes opened slightly. He couldn't get his eyes to focus, but he knew it was Ardeth beside the chair. "Hey, buddy," he murmured, his voice barely audible.

"Rick!" Ardeth whispered, his own voice thick with suppressed tears. "How are you feeling, my brother?"

"Spent, but he's gone. I've never been so glad to be exhausted," he managed a tired smile. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine—I didn't have a creature in my head." Ardeth told him, moving closer to Rick—as close as he could get since Rick was still strapped in.

"I could feel you there," he said as he remembered sensing Ardeth's presence through their connection as the creature had tried to kill him. Rick tried to straighten slightly in the chair but all of his limbs felt as heavy as lead, so he soon gave up. "You stopped the poison. I know the strain that puts on you."

"How could I let the creature take you away from me, my brother—my twin? We've only just learned who we are. You brought me back from death, I just prevented death from getting its claws in you."

"Thanks," Rick said as he closed his eyes again, resting them. It was almost to tiring to speak out loud with how labored his breathing already was, so he switched to the bond. 'When you died, I... I couldn't keep going. For once, I finally have family back and for that moment you were gone...' he couldn't finish the thought. 'I've come to depend on you more than I have on anybody else. And I don't think I've told you how proud I am to be your brother.'

'No more proud than I am to have you for my brother. Rest, Rick—we will talk more later, when you are stronger.' Ardeth told him, quietly.

Rick gave a small nod. He was gone in an instant. The muscles in his body gradually began to relax. His face was still very pale, but it was not as stark as it had been during the extraction.

Ardeth slid to his knees, too exhausted to stay upright any longer, and rested his forehead against Rick's leg. Keeping one hand tangled in Rick's, the younger boy fell asleep also.

The older Rick had returned to the commissary to see if the plate of food he had made for Ardeth was still there, though he would still have to find his brother to give it to him. It was gone, but he quickly made another plate and left the mess hall with the food in hand, looking for the Med-jai king.

He found the Med-jai in the room that had been assigned to them when they first arrived at the SGC as children. Hearing the door, Ardeth whirled, robes flaring out, hand on his scimitar. He relaxed when he recognized his brother. "Rick."

"Ironic to find you in here. The last time we were here, we couldn't wait to get out of this room. I come bearing food. You haven't eaten since before we met up with SG-1 at Hamunaptra," Rick said offering his brother the plate.

"Thank you," Ardeth took the plate, surprised when his stomach growled as soon as he smelled the food. He settled down on the bed, and glanced up at Rick. "Are you all right, my brother?"

"Yeah," Rick said assuring as he rubbed his face then stretched his neck slightly. "Just a little tired. But I'm glad that's over. You?"

The younger man was quiet for a few minutes, as he ate. "It was . . . difficult to go through that again." He said at last, tiredly scrubbing a hand through his hair.

"I'm sorry," Rick said quietly. "At least we don't have to redo that again," he commented handing his brother one of their canteens. "And both sets of us can go home soon."

"Yes. I want to be back in the desert—it grows more and more difficult to leave as I get older. Soon I won't be able to join you on these little adventures." Ardeth told Rick, finishing the food and drinking from the canteen. "The ties between me and the protections the king upholds grow stronger every season."

Rick scoffed for a moment teasingly. "The day you quit going is the day I hang up my guns, because honestly, what would be the fun of going without you?" But Rick's face was serious after a second. "You will do what is best for your people as you always do, but I think if duty didn't require your presence you'd still be able to go out on a few more adventures yet."

Ardeth laughed. "Oh, I'm certain that if we don't go in search of some adventures, the adventures will come searching for us. And then, what would your wife say to that?"

Rick groaned, but there was a smile on his face to think of the prospect. "Half of her would want to start scolding me, and the other half of her would want to join in. Jonathan would not be so pleased. He's just lucky we got there in time to help him escape from Peru with his hide intact."

"He was very fortunate indeed. Jonathon really ought to know by now that anything like that would not be safe to get into."

"Ah," he shook his head waving his hand dismissively. "You know Jonathan. Anything to get an easy buck. But he must have been pretty desperate to try tomb raiding again. Huh. And he say's we’re the mummy magnets."

"Yes. Well, it is our job—he just is a magnet. Come, we should go back to the observation room and check on our younger selves."

Rick nodded, adjusting one on the guns on his belt. He stood and followed Ardeth to the observation room.

Ardeth glanced through the window, then shook his head and laughed. "It appears that I have fallen asleep—you also."

Rick chuckled. "I'd say at this point we could both do with the rest." He saw Jacob enter the room with blankets for the boys and smiled. "I had an interesting discussion with Jacob and Selmak on the plane. He was asking a lot about how our people were doing. Apparently news of the Med-jai has been hard to come by since he left."

"If he is able to spare the time, we ought to take him home, to Kiriyah Gan. I think he will enjoy seeing what our people have done." Ardeth said, smiling as the man gave up on trying to get the boys to let go of each other and just tried to make them more comfortable.

"He's more than willing that's for sure," Rick mused. After a moment he sat down in one of the chairs at the desk that sat in front of the glass. "I wonder how Jack and the rest are doing in explaining this to General Hammond. They're supposed to have the debriefing soon. Daniel wasn't sure whether our presence would be required or not, but I'm sure that the general will want to see us before signing off on the report."

"I'm certain. Well, at least it is fairly obvious that we are the adult versions of ourselves. It will save some of the complications."

"Some," Rick snickered nodding. "I imagine, sooner or later, we'll have to discuss with them the manner of our transport home."

The king nodded, and sighed. "This part could get complicated. Well, I'm going to go return this plate."

Rick nodded. "And I'll keep an eye on us."

"I will see you shortly, then." Ardeth promised, and went off.

Rick sat and watched the boys sleep slowly processing all that had happened then and now. His ruminations were interrupted only periodically by Jacob or a member of the SG-1 team coming into the main hold to check on the young Med-jai. They didn’t notice Rick sitting in the observation room, and at the moment Rick was glad that the overhead light was turned off preventing anyone from seeing through the one way glass. Though when he saw Dr. Frasier sneaking into the room, he quickly made his way down to ward her off, mindful of his promise to Ardeth. ‘Frankly, I’m surprised it took her this long to sneak in,’ he thought.

Dr. Frasier went over the boys and started checking them over, obviously unable to deny her medical training any longer.

Rick rolled his eyes. Ardeth's going to kill me, he thought. "They're fine," he assured her, "but they need to sleep."

The doctor sighed heavily. "Well, at least help me get them into a more comfortable position." She ordered, obviously frustrated at not being able to do anything.

Rick sighed, then walked over to help her. He pulled another chair over for Ardeth so at least he wasn't sitting on the cold floor. Rick looked at the young Rick's and Ardeth's hands clasped together. He knew if he separated them, it would definitely wake Ardeth up at least. He motioned for Dr. Frasier to take the chair while he lifted the prince off the floor. * Once she wheeled the chair underneath the boy, Rick set Ardeth gently down on it.

Ardeth stirred a little, but just tightened his grip on Rick's hand and was deeply asleep again in seconds. Dr. Frasier shook her head. "Other than the effects of removing the symbiote, are either of the boys injured?"

"No," Rick lied with a straight face. In truth, they were much improved from how they had been. Ardeth's injuries had all almost completely healed and the presence of the symbiote had taken care of Rick's injuries. He stood with his eyes fixed on the boys, giving no outward sign, but in the back of his mind sighing in relief that his younger self's shirt was concealing the brand marks on his shoulders.

The doctor frowned at him, but let it go, and went off. Ardeth curled up on the chair, leaning over the arm to get closer to Rick in his sleep.

Rick smiled gently. Shaking his head he wondered, Has it really been that long ago? His younger self had thought he had seen so much, but he really had no clue. Even with the knowledge of the symbiote, he hadn't seen anything yet.

A moment later, the adult Ardeth peeked in. "Watching yourself sleep?" he asked quietly, smiling as he saw the boys.

He chuckled and replied, "More like keeping my promise to keep the doctors away. She can be quite determined."

The king shook his head. "Yes, she can be. At times, I think she is worse than Amir."

"I think you're right."

A few minutes later, a young airman came into the room. "Sirs, the general would like you to come to the briefing room."

The Med-jai nodded and followed him out of the room. Rick had to stifle his laughter when he saw the rather large unit of soldiers standing outside the isolation ward. 'Well, I guess they don't want to risk anything happening to us this time,' he commented through their bond.

'Apparently not. Hopefully they will also prevent Dr. Frasier from going after us as well.' Ardeth said, nodding solemnly to the soldiers as he passed them.

'Somehow I doubt that,' Rick thought to his brother. 'Maybe she'll be at the briefing.' He hoped so, but he doubted that too since she had not had a chance to examine the boys.

They met SG-1 on the way to the briefing room. Dr. Frasier, Jacob, and General Hammond were already in the room talking quietly.

As they entered the room and took a seat at the table, General Hammond looked up at the movement and, catching site of the two men, stared at them for a second wide-eyed.

"It is good to see you again, General Hammond. It's been quite a few years," Ardeth told the man, unable to reign in his mischievous side.

It only took a moment for the seasoned general to recompose himself. He had seen many strange things while working at the SGC, he didn't know exactly why this threw him. But he nodded back to Ardeth and Rick. "It is good to see you again and to know that you two are safely back."

Both Med-jai sat down. "Thank you, General."

"Now that you two are present, we can start what looks to be a long debriefing. Who wants to go first?" he asked raising his eyebrows as he looked around the table.

Daniel looked up hopefully, then winced as Jack kicked him under the table.

Daniel glared at the colonel, who returned the harsh look. "We don't want this to go on for any longer than it has to," he said pointedly, knowing the archaeologist’s tendency to ramble for long spans of time.

Rick laughed. 'Yup, just like we remember them.'

'Yes, exactly like.' With a quiet sigh, the king started detailing exactly what had happened to the two boys on their little adventure.

General Hammond listened to the story intently only asking occasional questions. Once they had finished, Jack looked smugly at Daniel. "See? Brief, concise, to the point," he said, implying that Daniel should follow Ardeth's example.

"Give him a few decades of giving orders and briefings, and he will learn to be more concise," Ardeth advised.

"Moving along, people," General Hammond said, gently steering back to the topic at hand, "what is the status of their present condition?" he asked looking towards Jacob, Dr. Frasier, Rick and Ardeth.

"They will both be fine, and grow up into reasonably normal adults." Ardeth told the man, trying not to smile.

"Reasonably of course being the key word," Rick muttered more to himself than to the others.

Jacob nodded in agreement with Ardeth. "They are in better condition than we expected them to be in considering the abuse they suffered at the hands of the NID. And from what I can tell young Rick is making a steady recovery from the poison." Here he looked at Ardeth having guessed by now what had saved the boy. Even when he had established the Med-jai, he had never expected their regenerative powers to reach such levels, especially in boys so young.

The king raised an eyebrow when he caught Jacob staring at him before turning his attention back to the briefing. Jack detailed what SG-1 had done while searching for the boys.

"Do we have any idea as to which faction of the NID is responsible for the boys' abduction? Did they leave behind any clues at the facility?" Hammond asked SG-1 and Major Davis who had been in charge of the interrogating the NID that were found at the abandoned building Rick and Ardeth had been held in.

"Not yet, sir, but my team and I are working on it." Davis told him, offering a folder of papers. "Here is what we've managed to learn so far. There are at least three more sleeper agents—we've found two of them."

Hammond nodded, glancing over the file on top, and deciding to give them a more thorough examination once the debriefing was over. Once he had the report from all parties on the events over the past few days since the boys were taken, he sighed. "Now that we have the boys safely back in custody, we are back to our original problem: how do we get them home?"

Ardeth glanced over at Rick and raised an eyebrow. "I think we might be able to help with that."

All present around the table looked at the two of them in confusion.

"You do?" Carter asked.

"Wait a minute," Jack asked. "If you have the solution, how come you didn’t just use that when you first got here or to send us home when we came to Ahm Kaldoon or whatever that place is?"

"Well, Rick and I only found it a few years ago when we were investigating a strange report from near the pyramids. After we figured out the controls, we moved it to a storeroom in the City for safekeeping."

"So you found some sort of machine? What does it look like?" Daniel asked. Something tugged at the back of his mind something familiar but he couldn't coax it forward. He had a feeling that they should know what device Ardeth was referring to.

"It is some sort of flying vessel. We discovered that it is capable of leaving earth's atmosphere safely when Rick started pushing buttons to see what they did." Ardeth shot a glare over at his brother.

"We couldn't exactly lift the thing and carry it home," Rick protested, putting up his hands defensively. "We had to either turn it on or leave it in the sands."

"But no one would be able to turn that thing on unless they..." Jack started but his voice trailed of as Hammond and SG-1 all turned to stare at the two Med-jai in surprise. "...unless they have they Ancient gene," the colonel finished.

Ardeth stared back at them. "What exactly is this Ancient gene?" he asked.

"The Ancient gene is a component of DNA that occurs only rarely in a person's genetic structure which makes them able to power or use technology from a race we have come to call the Ancients," Carter tried to explain.

"English, Carter!” Jack groaned, rubbing his forehead, scrunching up his face at Sam’s techno-babble. “It means that you're an advanced breed of human," he translated.

"Ah. Well, all Med-jai have abilities that are somewhat unusual for most humans." Ardeth told them. "We just happen to be some of the more powerful."

Jacob smiled; Selmak had already known. He knew that the Med-jai would be facing some great challenges from the evils they fought and had chosen his men accordingly.

Rick shook his head. "No wonder the goa'uld went after one of us."

"He thought that since we're part of the royal family, we would have more power—he did not count on that power being trained at all, or able to be used against him."

Rick shook his head to think if the goa'uld had found him before he had discovered he was a Med-jai. 'Two or three months sooner...' he thought.

'Two or three months soon, he was sealed in a jar, unable to do anything, my brother.' His younger brother told him, through the bond.

'True,' Rick replied, then spoke out loud. "So we can travel back to Kiriyah Gan and use this ship to transport the younger version of us back to the time they left." Then he turned to Ardeth. "Though we may want to either wait until the scarabs are dealt with or bring ourselves to the outside of the tomb," he suggested.

"Probably outside of the tomb. If we wait for Father to clear the scarabs, he will have worked himself into a full panic."

Rick nodded.

Jack looked at General Hammond. "Permission—"

"Granted," Hammond agreed before he even finished the question. As glad as he was to have the boys back safe and sound, he would feel better having this situation resolved. "As soon as young Rick and Ardeth are awake and fit for travel, you have a 'go'."

"Thank you, sir." Jack said, and the general rose.

"Keep me updated on everything, people." He ordered, before going into his office.

As SG-1 went to prepare for the trip, Rick turned to Jacob. "If you can spare the time for the trip, you are welcome to join us. I know that our families would be glad to meet you."

"Selmak and I would enjoy that. It will be good to see what the Med-jai have done." Jacob told them.

Rick smiled at Jacob and then turned to Ardeth. "I'm gonna go check on us, see if we're awake yet."

"All right. I am going to go retrieve our weapons. I will meet you in the isolation room in a little bit."

"See you there," Rick said, nodding then heading off.

Ardeth nodded to Jacob before starting off. He absently wondered how many weapons his brother had carried at fifteen, and if he would be able to carry them all by himself.

Fortunately the SF who had taken their weapons had had the foresight to keep them separate from the rest of the base's artillery. The Med-jai weapons were tagged and close together on the weapons rack.

Ardeth took the weapons, laughing quietly at the number of guns and knives Rick had been carrying.


	25. Chapter 25

Young O'Connell's eyes opened slowly, and for a second he didn't know where he was. As he looked around, he began to remember the events that had brought them here. "Oh yeah," he mumbled in recognition, then groaned, "we're back underground again." But inwardly he was glad to be here than in the hands of the NID or the goa'uld.

Ardeth was asleep in a chair next to Rick, half draped over the arm of the chair. His hand was in Rick's.

Rick smiled at his brother. 'Still lookin' out for me,' he thought. He felt a good deal better than the last time he was awake, still not as strong as he usually was but definitely more rested. He stretched as much as he dared trying not to move his arm and wake Ardeth. He reached his other hand back and rubbed his neck, absently trying to massage some of the stiffness out of the muscles, and his hand brushed over the brand marks still on each of his shoulders close to the base of his neck. He frowned but then shrugged slightly at least it didn't hurt anymore. As he looked back over at his brother he could see a few of the lingering affects of the poison. His skin was paler than it usually was. But aside from that he seemed to be alright. Rick scoffed at the realization that he probably didn't look much better off himself.

Feeling Rick's movement, Ardeth stirred a little. 'Rick?' he asked silently, sitting up. 'Are you well?'

'Yeah,' he answered, then laughed. 'I feel like I've been asleep for days. How are you doing?’

'Much better now that you're back with me. How do you feel?'

'Better, rested for a change, a little hungry—’ which was evidenced by his stomach growling.

Ardeth laughed, as he sat up straight, untangling his limbs from the chair. 'I will see if I can get some food. Oh, wait, someone's coming.'

Rick tried to sit up and realized that, aside from his arms, he was still belted to the chair. He watched the door carefully, a little on edge since the last surprise visitor they had had at the SGC. His jaw dropped open to see his older self rounding the corner. Even while the goa'uld had possessed him he had never seen his older self or even known he was present. It had been enough of a shock to see the older Ardeth and realize that it was not Suleimon.

"Oh good, you're awake," the man said with an amused grin. The boy found he couldn't really respond except to stare for a while.

"Hello. What is happening? Has a way been found to get us home yet?" Ardeth asked, snickering at the expression on Rick's face.

"Yes, we have," the older Rick answered, then pointed at his younger self. "Actually he already knows the way, he just doesn't know that he knows." The boy was still staring. The man laughed. "I'm starting to sound like Ardeth. We found a ship SG-1 discovered on another planet and brought here on one of their missions. It has the ability to travel through time." He stepped forward and handed each of the boys a plate he had picked up from the commissary on his way there.

"So we've got the way home figured out—when can we go back?" Ardeth asked, taking the plate eagerly. "Thank you for the food."

"General Hammond has given us permission to go to Kiriyah Gan as soon as you two are feeling up to traveling. Ardeth's getting your weapons from the armory and will be here in a moment."

Rick was still staring at the older him in disbelief the plate of food untouched on his lap. The adult O'Connell chuckled. "You know what Father Duncan would say if he saw you staring like that."

"'Shut your mouth. Its gathering flies,'" the younger Rick recited without thinking. After a moment, he started to eat but continued to stare in confusion. 'That snake must have done more damage than I thought.'

Ardeth laughed out loud. "No, my brother, the snake didn't cause any brain damage. Remember, we are in the future? This is your future self."

"Good," Rick sighed, but he still looked uncertain. "I didn't think I'd actually be right about that."

"Well, they are very old." Ardeth told him, smirking over his shoulder at the adult Rick.

The older Rick shook his head. "You keep calling us old, you can get food for yourself next time," he teased.

The younger Rick seemed to be relaxing a little more now that he knew he wasn't only one to see two of himself in the room. He polished off his plate fairly quickly, having not eaten since their last ration with the NID. The fact that he had done almost nothing but sleep since had helped.

The adult Ardeth came in just then, after shooing off the guards still outside the door. "Here you go—your weapons."

"Thank you," Rick said only staring at Ardeth for a couple of seconds before taking the weapons from his hand. He slipped on his twin holsters and began to load them with his pistols, taking the other pair and shoving them in his belt before taking his pen knife. He had to unbuckle the restraining belt around his waist before he could reach down and slide it into his boot. He then proceeded to remove the rest of the straps that still held him to the chair and stood. His legs were slightly stiff since he hadn't used them since Ahm Tehran.

Ardeth took his own scimitar back, and returned the one he was borrowing to the adult Rick. He quickly armed up himself, and stood ready to help his brother if needed.

The young O’Connell was only slightly wobbly on his legs, but still took it slowly, not wanting to embarrass himself by falling over. He stretched his limbs almost hesitantly because of the injuries he had sustained. It took him a few seconds to realize they were gone and that he didn’t need to worry about pushing his muscles too hard.

"I will go inform Colonel O’Neill that we’ll be ready to travel in just a few hours. We might need to sedate him for the trip, though.”

"Heh," the adult version of Rick scoffed. "Look who's talkin'." He looked at the boys. "You two feeling okay to walk?" Though he suspected it was a stupid question.

Ardeth glanced at Rick, then back at the adult. "Yes, we'll be fine to walk, as long as we go slowly."

The man nodded. "Good, then let’s head back to our room. I need to get the supplies we brought." Rick usually had a very wide gait, but he paced himself for the boys' sakes. Once they reached the room the younger Rick didn't want to go in looking at the room in disgust. He hadn't been overly fond of it in the first place, but so soon after the abduction, he wasn't ready to step back in just yet.

His adult self laughed. "I know how you feel. You can wait out here." He stepped into the room and grabbed his pack quickly.

Ardeth glanced over his shoulder at the group of guards that were following a little ways behind the boys. "I think they're worried about loosing us again."

His brother laughed ruefully. He had been annoyed at their presence before, but didn't mind it so much now. "I don't think I've had this many people worrying about my safety in my entire life."

"Right now, Father and all of the tribes are probably worrying about our safety—especially since I sounded the alarm for scarabs."

"True, well, actually not right now, so much as back then." Rick shook his head at how confusing this situation had become. "I'm so glad we won't have to deal with this for much longer. There are so many new factors, it's a wonder my head isn't spinning on my shoulders."

"Well, you get used to it after a while," Rick commented as he walked out of the room, grunting as he threw their supplies pack over his shoulder. Closing the door behind him, he turned to the boys with one of his typical grins. "So are you two ready to go home?"

"I think you know the answer to that." Ardeth told him, rolling his eyes a little. "When can we leave?"

Rick chuckled as he began to lead them down the corridors of the SGC. "As soon as I find you, and SG-1 and Jacob are ready to go." He stopped at a T-junction, closed his eyes trying to sense where the king of the Med-jai was. After a second he turned left and followed the link between them to his brother.

"We need to do that—practice with the bond so we can find each other easily and quickly."

"Shouldn't take too much practice with how much we've been using that bond since we got here," the younger Rick chuckled, smiling.

"No, probably not." Ardeth agreed, as they followed the older Rick through the tunnels.

Rick led the boys to Jack's office. "Hey, buddy," he greeted Ardeth who stood in front of Jack's desk. "Well, we're set," he said waving at the younger Med-jai.

Jack raised an eyebrow at the younger Med-jai. "How are you two feeling? Ready to go mess with time?"

"Boy, are we ever," the young Rick chuckled.

"Good," The man smirked. "Then I'll go gather my team and let the general know, and we're off to Egypt again."

It didn’t take long for the team to get ready even though, to the young O’Connell, it seemed to take ages. He didn’t say anything and vented his impatience by pacing which the older pair of them apparently found highly amusing.

Major Davis escorted their group to the airport, before going off to finish his own missions. Both Ardeths sighed heavily at the same time at the sight of the plane.

"Honestly, the people flying these planes aren't the pilots you've flown with in the past," the adult Rick assured them both. "It was the gentlest, most boring landing I've ever experienced. It won't be that bad, I promise."

"You just had to say that, didn't you?" the adult Ardeth demanded, with a scowl. "You know that saying that is a challenge to anything or anyone that is listening!"

Rick rolled his eyes and climbed up the stairs into the plane. Instead of reassuring his brother like he had intended, it had just made matters worse. Though inwardly, he winced. He agreed with Ardeth that to speak in absolutes about the future usually wasn't too healthy of a habit in their experience.

The younger Rick was confused. "What's the big deal? It's just a plane."

Both Ardeths winced. "It's unnatural! If we were meant to fly, we would have wings." the young Ardeth told him, very reluctantly going onto the plane.

Rick shook his head. "Guns aren't natural either but you use them. And we made it here safely. I've never had any problem with planes before."

"The first time we were on a plane, we had been kidnapped and were being taken to Egypt. On our second plane ride, you had a creature in your head!"

Rick grimaced. "I'd like to withdraw my statement."

The older Rick was nodding and grimacing as well. "Smart move," he whispered. He turned to his brothers. "Look you two can sleep for the flight if you want. I'll wake you when we land," he offered.

"That would be appreciated, my brother. You might consider helping the good colonel get some rest also, so that he does not drive everyone else insane." Ardeth suggested, picking a seat and settling in.

Rick chuckled. "Yeah, Jacob would appreciate it at least." He went over to O'Neill under the guise of talking with him about transport to Kiriyah Gan. The younger Rick’s brow furrowed in confusion. Since he had been unconscious the entire time between Hamunaptra and their arrival at the SGC he didn't have any idea what they were talking about. Just before he walked back, Jacob seemed to be thanking him profusely.

The younger Ardeth snickered. "He was pacing almost the entire trip back." He told Rick, before settling next to his adult self. He figured that was likely to be the safest, quietest spot.

The boy laughed. "He sounds like he handles restlessness about as well as I do. Get some rest. I'll see you when we land."

The prince waved a hand before leaning back and falling asleep. It was very amusing to see the two Ardeths sound asleep next to each other—they slept the same way, both resting a hand on the hilt of their scimitar.

Ready for anything, Rick mused to himself. The older Rick sat down next to him and followed the boy's gaze. Chuckling he whispered, "I guess old habits die hard." The flight went by quickly enough. And despite Rick's challenge, the landing was just as smooth this time as the last one had been. But Rick decided not to bring it up as he woke both Ardeths up.

After they were awake, the adult raised an eyebrow at Rick. "Don't forget to wake the colonel up."

Rick nodded and shook Jack’s shoulder as he passed him. The colonel looked up at him, looked around, and then eyed him suspiciously. Rick feigned his best innocent look as he headed down the steps, his younger self behind him. Jack blinked a few times as suspicion hardened into certainty, knowing what Rick had done. He stood and started after the pair much to the amusement of the rest of the group.

“Come, let us go rescue our twins,” the adult Ardeth said, trying not to laugh. The rest of the group left the plane also. The two Med-jai sighed in relief at being in Egypt again.

As they traveled to Kiriyah Gan in a small jeep caravan, Rick had an interesting time of explaining to O'Neill just what he had done to him. After a while though, he stopped pestering him about it when a number of the team joined in on Rick's side. Jacob watched the desert roll by with as much excitement and anticipation the Med-jai seemed to have about returning home.

After a while, Ardeth stopped the jeeps. "We must take horses from here—the protections are not kind to any motorized vehicle."

Jack looked around in confusion. "Ardeth, we didn't bring any horses." At this Rick chuckled, remembering that had been what he had said the first time Ardeth had shown him this little trick.

"Patience, my friend. Rick, will you help me?" The king asked, closing his eyes and concentrating on summoning his steed and several others for their companions to ride.

Rick nodded and closed his eyes, combining his power with his brother's. After a couple of minutes, a number of stallions became visible galloping over the sand dunes towards them.

"Nice!" O'Neill commented after a moment of stunned silence. "You know this becoming Med-jai deal is starting to look better by the moment!"

The four Med-jai laughed. "You are either a Med-jai or you are not—there is no way to become one." Ardeth told them. "I can sense the heart of a Med-jai in you all, and if you are willing, I will induct you into the tribes while you are in my home. I trust you all know how to ride a horse?"

"Yeah, we're good," Jack assured them, though Jonas and Teal'c were staring at their horses in fascination.

They left the jeep, though Ardeth placed a spell on it to protect it from the elements and keep it from being stolen or infested with desert creatures. Rick and Ardeth's horses were a little confused about who to go to, since they sensed two of their masters.

Rick led two of the horses over to the younger pair of Med-jai, handing the boys the reigns. He thought about helping them into the saddle but knew that neither boy needed help and would take the offer as an insult. Then he started walking back to his own horse.

His horse was trotting toward him, and the horse that the younger Rick was next to backed off. The stallion circled both Ricks, pushing them closer together, then started sniffing over them carefully.

The older Rick smiled. He looked over at his brothers to see their horses doing the same. "I think they're a little confused," he commented.

"Yes, they are," the adult Ardeth shook his head, smiling, and rested his hand on the war horse's flank. "I think it would be best if we rode together, then. They will be able to carry the weight, and it wouldn't do to confuse them too much."

Rick nodded. He tied the reigns of the younger Rick's horse onto the saddle horn of his own. Then once he was settled in the saddle he hoisted his younger self onto the horse as well.

"This is very strange," the younger Ardeth commented, mounting behind his older self.

The younger Rick chuckled wryly. “Heh, no kidding! Do you think your dad is going to buy this one when we get home?”

"I certainly hope so. I do not want to be sent to the mind healer!” The prince laughed, watching as Jack and his stallion got into a staring contest over who was in charge.

With a gentle nudge of his mind, Rick told the horse to let Jack win. The journey would go much more easily that way, though he cast an amused grin at his brother.

The Med-jai was grinning. "This will be an interesting trip," he murmured. Minutes later, everyone was finally mounted, and they were on their way,

With Ardeth at the head of the caravan, they steadily made their way across the desert. Rick was anxious to be home and he was wondering what reaction the younger Rick and Ardeth would have when they saw Kiriyah Gan. It hadn't changed all that much but still there were certain people he and his brother might have to keep the younger pair of themselves away from so as not to alter their future.

The adult Ardeth brushed his mind, through the bond. 'We'll have to keep them away from our families.'

'I was just thinking the same thing,' Rick said back, keeping his eyes focused ahead so as not to draw the boys suspicion. Soon, the younger boys were pointing enthusiastically as the mountain that housed the great Med-jai refuge appeared on the horizon.

Sensing the enthusiasm of the boys, the horses all picked up the pace just a little.

The members of SG-1 looked at each other confused. “How are we going to scale that?” O’Neill asked.

“Oh, we don’t have to scale it,” Ardeth reassured them. “All we have to do is walk through the wall!”

Jack's look just became more puzzled. He paused before looking down. "Yes, of course, why didn't I think of that?" he commented in his usual dry tone.

All of the Med-jai had to struggle to keep straight faces. "You will see," Ardeth promised.

All the members of the team from the SGC looked on as Rick's horse walked at a steady trot towards the sheer mountain wall the two riders grinning knowingly. Jack grimaced, expecting their horse to impact against the cliffside, and his eyes widened when they passed within, both O'Connells disappearing from sight.

Jacob and Selmak caught on almost immediately, because of Selmak's past experience with the Med-jai. He followed the Ricks, while both Ardeths waited—they would go through last to make certain no one had any problems.

SG-1 carefully guided their horses forward, some with looks of wonder and astonishment, others with misgivings but all made it safely inside without any problems.

"Come, let us go to the city itself." Ardeth said, taking the lead after speaking quietly to the guards posted just inside the entrance.

Daniel and Jonas followed quickly behind the Ardeths. "That was incredible!" Daniel commented on how well the entrance was hidden. "How did you get the illusion so precise?"

Jonas was right beside him with his own barrage of questions. "Has anyone every stumbled upon Kiriyah Gan by accident?"

The Med-jai king shook his head in amusement. "We do not know how the illusion was managed—that information has unfortunately been lost to time. And no, no one has ever found Kiriyah Gan by accident. If you are not led here by a Med-jai, you will never find it. We have even ensured that more modern devices such as satellites will not find our refuge."

At this, Carter was astonished. Even though they had all seen the power of the Med-jai, she knew it would take a great power to escape the technology they had developed, especially the devices they had been able to create and use with the help of the Asgard. After they had rounded several turns in the cavern, daylight appeared at the end of this last junction. The young Rick could hardly sit still with excitement. He always enjoyed the sight of exiting the caves to the slope that lead down into the heart of what was now his home.

As they left the tunnels and appeared on the ledge overlooking the hidden valley and oasis of Kiriyah Gan, the horses all paused automatically. Cheers went up from the Med-jai who were there upon seeing their king and his brother safely returned. Ardeth waved to them, smiling, then led the way towards the palace.

Jacob and Selmak smiled warmly, glad to see his people again. In a way it was like a home-coming for them, even though neither had been there before. But he was overjoyed to be among those he considered as much his people as the Tok’ra again.

Once they were near the palace, Ardeth glanced over at Rick. "We will go in the back way, if you go in the front and ensure that everyone the boys shouldn't see is gathered there,"

Rick nodded, dismounting his horse and heading inside.


	26. Chapter 26

He tried to discreetly walk in the doors but was nearly thrown to the ground as Evie, overjoyed at his return, threw herself into his arms. Rick just barely caught himself before he would have lost his balance. He smiled warmly at his wife also glad to see her again.

"How did it go? Were you able to get everything done that you had to?" She demanded, after kissing him thoroughly.

He nodded uncertainly. "Kind of. There are one or two minor things that we still have to do yet, but for the most part the mission has been a complete success," he assured her hating to shoo her away so soon, but not wanting Ardeth and their friends to get mobbed by the rest of the Med-jai people.

Her eyes narrowed at his tone. "Something's wrong. What is it that you don't want me to see?" She demanded, trying to push past him. "Is Ardeth hurt?"

How does she always know when something's up? he wondered, still astonished at how perceptive Evelyn was. He grabbed her to stop her from going out the palace doors, barely catching her in time. "No," he assured her. "They're not hurt," he said, trying to find a way to explain it quickly. "Listen, I need you to do me a huge favor. I can't explain just yet, but I promise I will explain it to you later on tonight."

"Rick O'Connell, just what exactly is going on?" Evy demanded, hands on her hips, glaring at her husband. At her raised voice, the rest of the family came pouring in to find out what was going on.

Rick had to restrain himself from groaning and rolling his eyes as his family spilled into the room. "In short, Ardeth and I are out there and we can't see you all at the moment." Rick shook his head knowing how confusing that sounded.

"Have you been playing with your time device again, Rick?" Evy asked, voice dangerously quiet.

"No..... not yet, but we're going to have to before the end of the day."

"You will explain this to me as soon as you can, or you will be in serious trouble!"

Rick nodded vigorously. "I promise, I will. Now please just hide!" he pleaded urgently. Alex looked at his father rather mischievously, very much looking forward to this story.

"Aw, come on, Dad. Can't we see your younger self?" he asked with the cocky grin he had inherited from his father. Rick glared at his son in exasperation. "Alright Dad," Alex chuckled as he and Lin walked off with Evie to hide themselves away.

After everyone was safely hidden away, Rick hurried back outside to let them know that the coast was clear.

The younger Rick looked over at Ardeth unable to hold in his curiosity. 'I wonder who it is we aren't supposed to see.' he said though their bond.

'I don't know—probably people important to us in the future,' The younger boy replied, absolutely thrilled to be back in the safety of Kiriyah Gan, even if it was the wrong year.

In the meantime SG-1 was marveling at the size of the city and the palace and the fact that it was so well concealed from the outside world. The party dismounted and headed into the palace.

"Welcome to my home," The king said to SG-1, as they stepped into the palace. "This has been the dwelling place of the king of the Med-jai for thousands of years, and it is a refuge from the sacred duty we bear."

Jacob looked around, pleased that with the task he had set out that the Me-jai had been able to do so well for themselves. "This is incredible," he mused looking around at the palace.

"Isn't it?" the younger Rick asked with a smile remembering the first time he entered the palace. "And this is just the entryway."

"No, Rick, you can't give them the extended tour just yet," the prince said, rolling his eyes.

"Aw, man," Rick groaned. He looked at his brother. "Well someone should." He figured they may not be able to do it, but that one of the older Med-jai might be able to.

The older Rick shook his head. "Nope, not until we get you into your room and get the time machine prepped for launch. You are ready to go home right?"

"Oh, of course!" Both boys looked very eager at the idea of going back to their own time.

"How long with it take?" Ardeth asked.

Rick looked at Ardeth with frustrated glance. "What are you looking at me for? You haven't let me touch it since we accidentally went into space with it."

"Depending on how much maintenance the jumper might need from disrepair, it shouldn't be longer than a few hours at most," Carter gauged.

"Rick, will you escort the boys to my rooms, and I'll bring our guests to the machine." The king said, pushing a hand through his hair. "You two can use my bathroom to get cleaned up, but I'm afraid there's nothing we can do about your clothing quite yet."

The younger Rick chuckled at that. "I'm good as long as I don't get clothes that bury me alive." He wasn't sure if he could speak for Ardeth in that regards.

The king smiled. "Try to stay out of sight as much as possible. Come, I'll show the rest of you to the machine."

Rick took the boys off the Ardeth's room. "So, confined to quarters again?" the younger Rick said.

The older Rick nodded. "At least you're not under a mountain or in enemy hands." At this his younger self nodded in acquiescence.

"So, what happens now? Just waiting?" Ardeth asked, glancing around the rooms.

"Just until we make sure the machine won't explode or something. That'd end you trip home real fast." Once he reached the room he waved the boys inside, then looked at both of them with a hard glance. "Now I know you boys are tired of this and are itching to get out, but you have to stay here until Ardeth or I come back to get you." He placed a strong emphasis in the statement that made it clear that he would brook no argument. He looked at them to ensure that he was understood.

"Very well. We will stay in here until you come to fetch us, unless we are kidnapped or otherwise forced to leave against our will," Ardeth promised, rolling his eyes.

Rick pointed at Ardeth. "No sneaking off this time, young man!" Then he walked out the door to join the rest of the group.

The younger Rick looked at Ardeth, a grin beginning to spread across his face. "What was he talking about?" he asked his brother.

The prince laughed. "Oh, I have no idea," An innocent grin filled his face. "Come, let's make use of the baths to get cleaned up before we go back to the oasis."

"Sure," Rick said with a knowing grin. Well if I don't know about it now, I'll find out about it later, he thought to himself. He walked over to a cabinet pilfering a couple of towels and tossing one to Ardeth.

Ardeth took the towel, and followed Rick into the bathroom to start the bathwater running. "It was while the creature was in you—the adult you put me in a room. He forgot to tell me to stay put, but he did imply it. I wasn't about to stay away though, not when I could feel you fighting the creature through the bond."

"Ah," Rick said a measure of amusement in his tone. He turned a looked at his brother. "Thanks, Ardeth."

"You are welcome, my brother." After the tub was filled, the boy started stripping out of his robes. "Let's get clean."

They cleaned quickly. After they were done, Rick was looking at his previous set of clothes, grimacing at the bloodstains in his shirt. "We definitely can’t let Amir see these or he won't be satisfied until he gives each of us a thorough examination."

"I know. Well, maybe we can find some way to get rid of this clothing before he sees us."

"I hope so," Rick said, uncertain. "It's gonna be pretty tight. Your dad might even be there by the time we get back." After a while of considering it he slid it on, though the point was almost moot since the chain he had been whipped with had torn through it pretty thoroughly. Rick tried to stifle his laughter when he saw Ardeth's robes didn't look much better with the enormous hole in the back.

"I think we are going to have to beg my cousins to help us get more clothing," the boy said, with a sigh.

Rick laughed even harder. "Oh yeah, they'll love that! They still haven't forgiven me for that rat I left in their desks." He remembered the way they had fallen upon him with indignant shrieks about how Ardeth's stunts were enough to put up with without adding to them.

The younger boy laughed too, "We may have to appeal to the older ladies, then—most of them like us enough to take pity on us and our need for more clothing."

Rick nodded. "Good idea."

The Med-jai king led SG-1 and Jacob through the passageways of the palace to the back storeroom. "Here we are," he announced, opening the door and muttering a phrase that filled the room with light.

As the shadows dispelled, SG-1 saw the time jumper they had recovered from one of their many missions. “Well, it’s been a while,” Jack said walking over to it and placing a hand on the hull.

Carter went over and began to examine the control panel. “It seems to be intact, sir.” She pushed a button and the back of the ship opened allowing her to go inside and check the interior controls.

"Whatever you do, don’t let Rick have the controls,” Ardeth warned with a smirk, as Rick came hurrying into the room.

Rick gave his brother a withering glare. "Hey, buddy, I wasn't the only one pressing buttons on that thing," he countered, pointing an accusing finger at Ardeth.

"Would I do something that reckless?" The king was doing his best to look innocent.

Rick shook his head in disbelief. "Is that even a question??"

Carter appeared in the doorway of the ship. "So far, sir, it appears to be working fine, but I can't run a thorough diagnostic unless it's powered up."

"Count me out," Rick said taking a step back and looking pointedly at his brother. "I wouldn't want you to get your hands on something else I'll never live down."

The Med-jai laughed. "No, my brother, you would only never live that particular part of it down if I gave your wife the exact circumstances that led to our adventure."

"You wouldn't," Rick said with a warning tone, eyeing his brother closely.

Jack had to admit he was surprised at the amount of misgivings in O'Connell's expression. He had his share of experiences like that and his face seemed torn between an amused grin and wincing sympathetically for Rick.

"No, I wouldn't—I don't relish the thought of sharing your punishment with you through the bond."

Rick shook his head at his brother's statement, releasing the breath he didn't know he was holding. Jonas and Daniel exchanged an amused glance. "Sounds like there's quite a story behind that one," Jonas said his smile evident in his tone.

"Oh you have no idea," Rick groaned.

"Quite an interesting story, yes." Ardeth strode forward and started the time jumper.

"Well, it couldn't be as bad as the past week for you two," Daniel guessed.

Rick looked at the archaeologist, his face scrunched up. "You'd think so, wouldn't you?"

"Come, we need to hurry—our younger selves are getting quite restless, if I remember correctly."

Jack stepped into the time jumper. "Carter?" he asked. Sam and Jacob were both looking at the data streaming across the screen of the major's laptop that she had jacked into the ship's mainframe.

"It looks good, sir," she answered after a moment. "The ZPM has more than enough power for the trip barring any unforeseen difficulties and the ship is functioning normally."

"I will go retrieve the boys, then." Ardeth raised an eyebrow. "Would any of you like to accompany me?"

"I would," Jacob said, hoping to note the location of the library along the way for future reference. Rick also volunteered to join them. They set off down the hallway.

The young Rick had traded pacing in the center of Ardeth's room for pacing on the balcony. "Man," he groaned, "if only sneaking out wouldn't have time-repercussions. I wonder how long it would take for them to power up that ship."

"Not too much longer, I hope," Ardeth was sitting on the end of the bed. "This is very strange—it's Father's room, but decorated differently."

Rick walked back into the room forcing himself to sit down. "I guess this is the difference between yours and your dad's taste." He paused. "Do you wonder what our lives are like now? I mean I know we're not supposed to know and they can't tell us, but don't you still wonder?"

"Yes, I wonder a lot. Are we married? Do we have kids?" The boy sighed, shaking is head in frustration. "And we can't know the answers to anything, or it might mess up the timeline!"

"I know," Rick said shaking his head. He thought for a second, then smiling, he said. "I could picture you being married some day. But me, I can't see it happening."

Just then, the door opened, and Ardeth, Rick, and Jacob stepped in. "Ready to go home?"

Rick jumped up. "Boy, are we ever!"

"Let us go, then," The king led the way back through the halls, taking the back passages so there was less chance of running into anyone.

The young Rick and Ardeth exchanged an amused glance over this knowing what the king had done and why. Once they reached the room with the time jumper the young Rick gasped in surprise.

"What's wrong?" His younger brother asked.

Rick continued to stare at the ancient device for a moment, before answering. "I've seen this ship before," he said slowly remembering the dreams he'd had at the SGC before they had been taken.

"When?" The younger Ardeth asked, while the adult pair exchanged glances.

'I had forgotten that your Vision dreams had started so early,' the king said, through the bond.

'It took me a while to get used to it myself,' his brother replied.

"I had a dream about this ship," the young Rick explained resting his hand on the hull hesitantly to see if it was real. "Col. O'Neill was flying it to take us back to our time."

"'And you were there, and you were there, and there's no place like home,'" Jack quoted in amusement.

The young Rick turned a looked quizzically at their adult selves. He hadn't remembered them in the dream, but he had felt as if somebody had been standing behind him, just at the edge of his perception.

"Well, we should begin. We'll want to aim for about two hours after the scarabs drove us through the Stargate, and just outside of the ruins. We do not want Father to panic."

The team piled into the time jumper and Jack took the helm out of habit. "You got an exact date for me?" he asked Ardeth over his shoulder. "I'm sure no one here feels like getting lost in time again." Once Ardeth had given it to him, Jack rested his hands on the console and closed his eyes. The ship made the barest vibrations as it responded to the colonel's prompting.

Rick watched as his dream was playing out before his eyes. 'I am never going to get used to this,’ he said to Ardeth through their bond.

'I do not believe I will, either. We're almost home!' The younger boy's excited grin was wide.

Rick joined in his brother's enthusiasm as he realized that in a moment this would all be over and they would be back in the desert on familiar ground with the ones who cared about them. He was surprised by how glad this made him. He decided he never wanted to lose the newness of how good the idea of being with loved ones felt to him.

Moments later, the ship was hovering over the ruins, startling the Med-jai gathered there quite badly. They were all within a protective barrier that prevented the scarabs from getting to them, while the scarabs were contained by the blood protects Ardeth had put up to hold in the creature.

"Whoa!" Jack said looking at the swarming mass of iridescent black beetles. "I remember those guys. Do we need to contain those things before I set her down?"

The adult Med-jai exchanged a glance. "Work with me, Rick, and we can push them back into the ruins—Father is best at the spell to destroy them."

Rick nodded, placing his hand on his shoulder, the physical contact increasing and combining their powers.

Seconds later, the scarabs were all contained within a shimmering blue bubble inside the ruins. The king slumped over a little, drained. "There. Rick, I can't go out, but someone needs to take the boys out and back up their story of going to the future."

Rick had thought it would have been better if Ardeth had been the one to go outside, since he hadn't seen his father for so long since his death, but he nodded the same, guessing that maybe it would be too painful for him. He sent as much of his energy into Ardeth as the king would allow before he nodded to the boys and walked down the loading ramp.

The boys followed close behind him, and the Med-jai who had been in the bubble came surging out to check over the boys and make certain they were all right.

Gen and Hakim were hammering the boys with a barrage of questions until they noticed the man standing beside them.

"Hey, long time, no see," Rick greeted them as they stared speechless at him.

The boys were trying not to laugh. "Gen, Hakim, we accidentally went to the future." Ardeth said, with a smile.

The only thing that signified they even heard the prince was their eyes abandoning staring the Rick confusedly to staring at Ardeth confusedly.

Gen was the first to find his voice. "You.... what?"

"Has Father arrived yet? I don't want to have to tell the story too many times in a row."

"He is due in soon," Hakim replied, his stomach acids starting to quiet some. When the scarabs had begun to flood out from the tomb and the boys had not returned they had feared the worst. Hakim had been unprepared as to how he would explain this to Suleimon when he would arrive. But a voice emanated from behind them all as the king approached with a few guards at his side. He had arrived outside the barrier just a minute before the ship had appeared and the scarabs contained. His relief was evident as he saw the boys numbered among the survivors.

"Father!" Ardeth abandoned his dignity and ran over to the man, hugging him tightly. It felt like ages had passed and many horrible things had happened since he had been safe in Suleimon's arms.

Suleimon tightened his arms around the boy, glad to know that he was safe. Though he seemed unharmed physically, he sensed there was something different about his son. He was concerned as he realized that the last time Ardeth had clung to him this tightly had been right after they rescued him from the red guards. Rick approached more slowly still getting used to having someone to run to.

The king motioned Rick closer and pulled him into the embrace also. The boy felt himself relax in Suleimon's grasp also wrapping his arms around the man. "What happened here?" he asked, after a long moment.

The older Rick chuckled quietly at what seemed to the king to be such a simple question. "It's a bit of long story, actually."

Suleimon's eyes snapped over to the adult, then widened. He glanced from the boy he was holding to the adult Rick, then shook his head and sighed. "Are there other people with you?"

Rick nodded. "Yes," he said nodding his head in the direction of the ship. "And Ardeth is with them. Containing the scarabs took a lot out of him," he explained. He was hoping that his brother would get a chance to see his father at least once more before they left. Ardeth had lost enough people in his life. Rick had never seen him so grief-stricken as on the day that his father had died.

"Gen, would you have a large tent prepared, along with refreshments? I would like to hear this story in comfort, after I deal with the scarabs." The king said, rubbing his hands over the backs of the boys.

Gen nodded and quickly went to arrange the tent and prepare the food. The young Rick smiled at Ardeth, thinking back to their discussion over what they would do first the second they got home. 'I didn't even have to ask Gen to make us decent food! Your dad did it for me!' he commented through their bond.

'And we got a bath earlier, so we don't have to waste time on that—all we need to do is get clean clothing before Amir sees us, or Father notices it.' Ardeth said, finally loosening his grip on Suleimon a little.

Suleimon pulled the boys briefly to himself again before rising to his feet to go and deal with the scarabs still seething within the barrier Ardeth and Rick had established. Rick walked for a second back to the ship to see if the party wanted to come out and join them in the tent Gen was preparing. As he leaned his head in the door he quickly looked over at Ardeth. "How are you doing, buddy?"

Some color had come back to the king's face, and he looked a little more steady. "I will be fine, my brother. What is happening?"

"Well, Dad has gone to work on a more permanent solution to our little infestation problem. In the meantime, Gen's setting up a tent and cooking some food so that when Dad is done, he can listen to our explanation of what happened. You all are invited. It doesn't look like we'll be going anywhere soon."

The king nodded. "Very well. Let's go get more comfortable. It will be wonderful to have some of Gen's cooking again."


	27. Chapter 27

Rick smiled as they all walked off the ship and headed towards the main tent in the Med-jai camp. 'Wait until everyone sees you,' Rick thought to his brother. 'And they were surprised to see me. Wait until they see you survived to adulthood,' he teased good naturedly.

The Med-jai laughed. 'Yes, I am certain that will surprise them.' He settled on one of the pillows spread around the tent, and glanced over at SG-1 and Jacob. "Make yourselves comfortable."

Rick took a quick moment, looking through the supplies in the corner, when the young Rick and Ardeth caught his attention. They were also rummaging through the supplies hurriedly. The man chuckled and walked over to them tapping them on the shoulder. Both boys started, whirling around doing their best to look innocent. "Yeah like you could fool me with those looks," O'Connell laughed. Then leaning in close he offered held out his hands. In each was a fresh set of clothing he had just swiped for them. "Looking for this?" he asked offering them to each of the boys, fully aware of their intent to change before their bloody rags were discovered.

"Thank you!" Ardeth took the clothing eagerly and slipped behind the partition to get changed. He would burn his old clothing later, so that there was no evidence of him getting injured.

As the young Rick did the same, the older one had to stifle his laughter as he made his way over to sit next to his brother. Though he could not banish the smile from his face.

"Our clothing?" Ardeth guessed, with an answering smile. "I wonder what Father's reaction is going to be when he sees me."

"I guess we're about to find out," Rick said as the king entered the tent.

At first Suleimon did not notice Ardeth his eyes slowly surveying each of the strangers in his tent. His face was puzzled. He had never seen such armor and weapons before except perhaps the staff that Teal'c bore, but only from images depicting the training tactic Selmak had used to teach the Med-jai at its inception. Then he froze as he saw what looked like a younger but otherwise mirror-image of himself. His breath caught in his chest at the strong Med-jai King he saw before him and he realized that it was Ardeth he saw and not himself. "Ardeth?" he asked, still slightly uncertain.

"Father," Ardeth's movements were graceful as he stood. "It is wonderful to see you again."

Suleimon's face burst into a wide smile as he wrapped his arms around his son, clapping him on the back. "My son!" he roared proudly. "Look at you! What a man you have become!" he cried out proudly.

The younger king laughed, hugging his father back. "It isn't every day you get a visit from the future," He said, voice wry.

Suleimon laughed as he pulled back holding his son at arm's length and shaking his head in wonder. "I can hardly believe my eyes. How is this possible?" He looked from Ardeth to Rick and back again. "How did you get here?"

"The machine we arrived in is capable of jumping through time. But there's a lot more to the story—just a minute, and the younger us will be back, and we can tell you everything."

At that moment Gen arrived in the tent bearing trays of food, and began serving it to the king, Ardeth, Rick, and the visitors from the future. The young Rick having finished changing poked his nose out from around the divide. He inhaled deeply smelling the aroma of fresh food. Since a huge group was between them and the nearest fire, he quickly dug a hole in the sand and buried his old clothes with the intent to burn them later. "Are you ready?" Rick asked Ardeth eagerly.

The younger boy slid into his new robe, and imitated Rick, burying his old clothing. "We can't forget to burn those later. Let's go eat—I am starving!"

The boys stepped out from behind the curtain and Suleimon motioned for them to join him. Rick and Ardeth sat down on either side of him and Gen handed them each a plate of fresh food. The king placed an arm around each of them and turned to the older pair awaiting their explanation of the situation.

The adult Ardeth told the assembled group the story, his voice unconsciously taking on the trained inflections of a master storyteller. He glossed over some of it—like the torture from the NID.

His father listened intently and didn't notice both boys breathe a sigh of relief at Ardeth's discretion. After Ardeth was finished, Suleimon turned to Jacob and SG-1. A grateful smile painted his face as he spoke. "Words cannot express how I am indebted to you for saving my sons' lives and restoring them to me," he addressed Jack as the leader of the group.

"Not a problem, your kingliness. Glad to help out." Jack said right away, earning himself a glare from Daniel at his impudence.

Suleimon was in too good a mood to take offense though. "My people are also in your debt for your aid in helping to rid the world of the creature entombed here. For that, I declare that you will always be welcome among the Med-jai, perhaps even being Med-jai yourselves."

At that, the adult Ardeth rolled his eyes. "I told you Father would beat me to it!" He told Rick, grinning a little.

"Great minds think alike," Rick retorted.

The younger king rolled his eyes, and finished his plate of food. He didn't want Gen's cooking to go to waste.

Rick smiled mischievously having expected Ardeth's response. By the time everyone had finished eating the sun was setting casting long shadows across everything from the ruins to the camp. But though the setting looked ominous all of the people there felt relaxed, and an easiness settled over the group from the future that hadn't been there since this whole ordeal had begun.

"Do you want to spend the night, or head back now?" The adult Ardeth asked Jack, slouching against the tent wall.

Jack cocked an eyebrow. "Everyone seems to be settled. If it's alright we'd like to spend the night." Then he chuckled. "Besides we've got a time machine; what's one more night?" The entire group seemed incredibly pleased by this especially Jonas, Daniel, and Jacob.

"Oh, Father, I forgot to introduce you." The younger Ardeth said, glancing from Jacob to his father. "Father, this is Jacob, host of Selmak. Jacob and Selmak, this is my father, King Suleimon of the Med-jai."

Suleimon looked at the Tok'ra and inclined his head in respect. "Will wonders never cease?" he breathed in awe. "Jacob, Selmak, it is an honor to meet the first Med-jai."

"The first Med-jai? What exactly do you mean?" Daniel asked, grabbing his notebook and pen and looking between the two men.

Both Rick and Ardeth exchanged amused glances as Suleimon began to explain. "Selmak was the personal body guard and closest friend of Pharaoh Seti I. He founded the Med-jai and trained the first of us. His son was actually the first Med-jai commander."

Jacob's head dipped for a second his voice changing as Selmak surfaced. He shook Suleimon's hand. "I am glad to see our people faring so well under your rule and that of your son. I was most impressed to see Kiriyah Gan. The perfect refuge for my people," he said with a warm smile.

"Yes, Kiriyah Gan has been very important to our people. We number in the hundreds of thousands now, with twelve full tribes. Each tribe has the sacred duty for one month at Hamunaptra, and then two months off to recover before a month at one of the lesser protected areas."

"That is good to hear," Selmak said. "After the incident with Seti's mistress and high priest I feared the worst, but my duties left me no time to return and investigate. The news you and Ardeth have brought me is a most welcome comfort."

"Tonight will be a celebration—one of our duties has ended, and we are free from guarding this place!" Suleimon declared, then stood to let all of the tribe that was there know what was happening.

Upon the news, all of the Med-jai rejoiced. Within the next few days the tribes would prepare to leave the location. As night fell over the camp the entire group was exhausted from the strain of the past while.

A few of the soldiers came in with extra bedrolls and blankets for the guests before going off to seek their own sleep. The soldiers that had accompanied Suleimon from the capital would take the watches that night. It wasn't long before Amir finally managed to find the boys and corner them so that he could check them over.

Rick tried in vain to hide the burn marks on his shoulders, but Amir knew him and Ardeth too well to take their word for it that they were all right. "One of these days, I'm gonna find you dangling from a spit, run through, and still insisting you're alright—" but his voice trailed off as he saw the brand marks. Rick cringed as he waited for the other shoe to fall.

Amir didn't seem to know what to say. He gently examined them, frowning when he saw how healed they were. "What happened, Rick?"

"Nothing," he tried to brush it off as gently as he could. Please don't, he pleaded with him inwardly. He didn't want to revisit this moment just yet. He still couldn't believe how close he'd come to breaking that day. "It feels better, I promise," he said quietly.

Ardeth, sitting quietly next to Rick, was shivering, fighting back the memories of his own torture. Amir stared between the two boys for a moment before standing into the main part of the tent and asking Suleimon to come with him.

Rick immediately turned around and tried to quickly put his shirt back on, his face slightly red in embarrassment.

"What is going on?" Suleimon asked, as he stepped into the room and glanced at the boys. Rick had his shirt mostly back on, but Ardeth was sitting still, staring at the floor, caught up in a flashback.

Suleimon looked between the boys, the concern evident in his face. He knelt beside his sons carefully placing a reassuring hand on their arms. Rick couldn't raise his eyes to meet the king's.

When Ardeth jerked away from the physical contact, the king glanced over at Rick. "Are you currently injured in any way?" he asked, voice stern but not threatening.

"Not currently," Rick answered truthfully. He was exceedingly glad that the king had placed that qualifier on the end and that he could answer his adopted father honestly.

"Very well. Can you help me with Ardeth? I think he is having a flashback, but I don't know what to."

Rick looked over at his brother as he nodded. He pushed through their bond to try and bring Ardeth back from the flashback. 'Ardeth,' he called as he placed his hand on his shoulder. 'Ardeth?'

The younger boy jerked back, the physical and mental contact pulling him free of the memories. He blinked at Rick, Suleimon, and Amir. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Rick said managing a small smile. "You're safe now. We both are." He tried to send comforting feelings through their bond to help his brother, thinking maybe Ardeth's flashback could have been feeding off of his own.

Suleimon sat down between them, wrapping an arm around both of their shoulders. "I think there is more to the story that I need to hear, my sons."

Rick grimaced for a second, then took a deep breath. "The people that kidnapped us from the SGC, the NID, questioned us, convinced that we were allied with the creature because they thought we were protecting the goa'uld at the site instead of protecting against it," he said quietly, not wanting to include the part about Hamunaptra for Ardeth's sake. He wasn't sure if Ardeth was ready to talk about that yet.

"They tortured you both," Suleimon concluded, and his grip tightened on the boys. "Yet you are both physically healed. Oh, my boys, how can I protect you?"

You can't, Rick thought sadly, but didn't fell it would be a good idea to say so out loud. He moved quickly to try and assure the king. "Be we have been healed. We are better now, we just have a couple of scars to show for it, that's all," he hurriedly tried to explain.

The man sighed softly. "Physically, yes, you have been healed. But it will take you much longer to recover in other ways."

Rick couldn't argue with that. He leaned heavily against the man, drained with the weight that he and Ardeth both carried. His closed his eyes inhaling deeply and opened them slowly. He finally raised his gaze to meet Suleimon's.

Suleimon caught Rick's gaze with his own, and smiled at the boy. "I will do what I can to help you both. For now, sleep," the king's voice was laden with enough power to put both the boys he was touching to sleep. The man looked up at Amir, eyes sad. "I can't ward both of their dreams tonight by myself. Will you help me?"

Amir nodded placing one hand on the king's shoulder and the other on Rick's forehead while Suleimon's hand rested lightly on Ardeth's. Once their task was done, he looked at the king. "He was embarrassed when I found his scars, but I thought you should know. He wants to prove himself to us I think. He's terrified of showing weakness."

"I will talk to both boys about it soon, after they've had some time to recover." Suleimon sighed as he looked down at the two boys, gently smoothing back their hair away from their faces. "Will you watch them? I must go speak with my adult son—I sense great grief in him that has not been dealt with."

Amir nodded and sat by the boys watching them sleep. The king walked back out to look for Ardeth. SG-1 and Jacob were going to sleep. Rick sat alone where he and Ardeth had laid their things for the night. His head spun around as the king came out of the small room. "Hey Dad," he said rising to his feet. He looked towards the door of the tent briefly before returning to look at Suleimon. "I think he needed some fresh air after all the excitement," he said explaining Ardeth's absence from the tent.

"I will go see him in a moment, then. Are you well, my son?" Suleimon asked, touched by the way Rick called him Dad. The younger Rick had yet to be comfortable enough to call him 'Father' or 'Dad' yet.

Rick smiled, nodding. "Yeah, I am. I have to say when we were hovering in the ship above Ahm Khalud this afternoon, as strange as it sounds, I've never been so happy to see a cursed site in my life." He barely caught himself before saying how good it was to see him again, unsure if that might tell him about the future. He stepped forward embracing his father.

Suleimon hugged him back. "How are you doing, Rick?" The man asked, after they had pulled apart.

"I'm actually doing pretty good. I have a wife, Evelyn, and a son, Alex, now. Actually he has a wife too. Man, does that make me feel old," Rick mused.

The king laughed. "I can feel the bond you have with your wife—it is very strong, almost as strong as the one with Ardeth. Can you tell me why it is that I sense such great sorrow in Ardeth when he has the bond to steady himself?"

Rick bowed his head slightly. "I remember when I first met you both and saw you and him together sometimes I had to fight of jealousy because he had all the things that I didn't: you, our family, our people. Now he has lost so much. You died, his wife and young son died a couple of years after that." Rick looked at through the tent door as if he could see his brother standing outside, alone in the night. "He doesn't like to talk about it much. I'm not sure that even now he's really dealt with it."

"I will see if I can help him with it, then. Were you able to deal with it?" Suleimon asked, not wanting to ignore one of his children over the other.

"Eventually," Rick replied. "I guess it was a little easier on me because I'd been through it before and this time I didn't lose everyone. I still had Ardeth. I just wish I had been able to help him as much he helped me."

Suleimon hugged Rick again, then sighed. "I will go see if I can help him at all. I am so proud of both of you—remember that, always."

Rick beamed, his eyes glistening somewhat. "Thanks, Dad."

Suleimon squeezed Rick's shoulder before stepping outside the tent to find Ardeth.


	28. Chapter 28

Ardeth was sitting on a large outcropping of rocks, staring at the ruins. He had one knee drawn up to his chest, and his arms wrapped around it. In the moonlight, except for his beard, he looked very young.

Suleimon stepped up behind Ardeth and placed a hand gently on his shoulder. "It is a beautiful night, isn't it, my son? Very peaceful. Just what you need I think after all that you've gone through."

Ardeth twisted a little to look up at Suleimon. A mask automatically dropped over his face as soon as the king touched his son's shoulder. "What do you mean, Father?"

Suleimon moved to sit beside Ardeth. "You may be from the future and carry different burdens than your younger self is currently undergoing, but I am still your father. I can tell when something is troubling your heart."

Ardeth instinctively leaned against Suleimon as soon as the king was settled. He gave a choked laugh that was almost a sob. "I think I am taller than you now."

Suleimon chuckled at this as he placed his arm around his son's shoulder. "I had a feeling this might be the case someday."

"Rick is taller than both of us, though. He took great delight in bringing it up all the time after it was clear that I was not going to grow anymore, until I started not holding back at all in scimitar practice."

At this Suleimon burst out laughing. He could picture this in his mind's eye. Their height had seemed to become quite a source of good-natured competition between the boys. Though Rick had the upper hand there, Ardeth had the advantage of a great deal more training than Rick. "I can imagine so. Terrence and I did the same thing. I am still taller than him, but he has a natural grace with the scimitar that took me years to master."

Ardeth laughed, picturing that scene easily. "He stopped teasing me about it many, many years ago—his wife got tired of him coming back to her too bruised and tired to do more than say hello and fall asleep."

The king laughed. "As did your mother when Terrence was bent on proving that I did not have the upper hand." Suleimon paused as he looked at his son, his expression turning grave. "What is it that burdens your heart?" he asked gently.

Ardeth's eyes slid closed, and he tilted his head forward, allowing his hair to slide forward and shield his face. "You were murdered by the red guards. There was nothing I could do to stop them—you were protecting Rick and me, since we had both been injured. Our reinforcements arrived seconds after that monster Lock-nah killed you."

Suleimon's grasp around Ardeth's shoulders tightened, his eyes closing slightly. He sent as much comfort as he was able to through his bond with his son. He remained quiet giving his son a while to recover from reliving this memory. At length he spoke again, a sad smile touching his face. "If I were allowed to choose my death, I could not think of a better way than to die defending the ones I love. As would you. I am glad that my death had meaning, but I am sorry that I did not get to watch you go on to lead our people. I am very proud of you, the man you have become, and your mother would be too."

"Thank you, Father." Ardeth whispered, desperately struggling to reign in his emotions and keep from crying.

Suleimon embraced his son fully. "I love you, my son," he whispered. Even though this man was now taller than him, he ran his fingers through Ardeth's hair as he used to do when he was a boy.

That broke through the last of Ardeth's barriers, and his shoulders started shaking as he cried out all of the grief that had been bottled inside him for so long—first the death of his father, then of his family.

His father held him there as he wept, tears also running down his face. He pushed strength and comfort through their bond, not saying a word for a long while.

After several minutes, Ardeth's weeping slowed as he regained control over himself. He was faintly embarrassed at the loss of control over his emotions, but also tremendously relieved to have let go of the burden of grief.

Suleimon held onto his son for a moment longer, almost hesitant to let his son go. Once he leaned back he clapped Ardeth on the back. "So, how old are you now?" he asked wondering approximately what time in the future he came from.

The other king straightened, discreetly wiping his face. "Well, actually, I'm older than you are, Father. I am 103 this year."

The king chuckled, his head shaking. "My own son is older than I am. Terrence would definitely get a laugh out of that one." He paused for a moment. "Do you have a family?" He had remembered Rick saying that his wife and son had died, but did not remember him mentioning if Ardeth had any other children or if he had gotten married again since their deaths.

"I have one daughter, Azizah. She is being courted by a young man from one of the tribes. It was a miracle that she survived. My heir is actually Alex, Rick's son."

Suleimon laughed, easily seeing Ardeth challenging the man to a duel if he thought he had caused her even the slightest pain. "And tell me," the king asked in a mischievous tone, "does Azizah get into as much trouble as her father?"

Ardeth laughed. "No, she does not. She claims that I use up all of the trouble before it can reach her. It helps that everyone in the tribes is very protective of her. Alex considers himself her brother, and while he teases her, he also takes care of her."

"He sounds a lot like his father in that way," Suleimon mused.

"Yes, Alex is very much like his father." Ardeth sighed, exhausted.

Suleimon inhaled a deep breath and released it slowly, greatly pleased to hear news of how his sons would fare after he was gone. A part of him was a little sad that he would never get to meet his sons’ families and that Ardeth would suffer so much for their cause. But he took great comfort in the fact that he had not taken the same path that Kasim had follow with his grief. It also gave him great joy to have this time with his son, now a man and a king to their people. He smiled a full smile that Ardeth had rarely seen, something he seldom showed since the death of his wife.

"Oh, before I forget, Father. Make certain that Rick gets plenty of training for his powers. He doesn’t use them often, but when he does, it’s always for very large things.”

Suleimon stared at his son in confusion and disbelief for a moment. "He has the powers of a magic user? How is this possible?"

The other king shrugged. "I do not know. All I know is that he invoked the strongest protection one to dispose of the creature's pet when we were trapped in the ruins, and then to bring me back from the dead."

Suleimon had been listening intently up until he heard Ardeth say the words "bring me back from the dead." His face drained of color. "You... died?!" Suleimon asked slowly.

Ardeth winced. "Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned that."

Ardeth's father rose and began to pace slightly, torn between amazement and frustration. "I knew you would not wish to speak so soon of what had passed between you, the creature and the NID, but --" he stammered. He looked at his son. "You mean that you died and Rick used Med-jai powers to bring you back??"

"Sit down, Father." Ardeth told him, voice soft. "I will tell you a few of the details, but do not expect the boys to give you any information for a long time. It was a very difficult experience. We were both tortured, severely, but the NID. They learned of the way to Hamunaptra by giving me a truth serum, and using a device that can read your mind. On the way there, we managed to make the desert rise against them and send us to the protected area near to Hamunaptra. There, we tried to escape. I was shot in the back with a staff weapon, and I died. Rick and I had recently discovered that we are soul-twins, and established a powerful bond. Using that and some instinctive, powerful magic, Rick brought me back."

Suleimon was silent for a long moment, his eyes never leaving his son's. After a long while he found his voice and shook his head. "Your soul-twin?" he repeated quietly. Then he smiled slightly. "We had always wondered why the bond between you two was so strong. And I had always assumed that if Rick had the abilities of a magic user that it would have manifested itself sooner. That he survived the rite at all is unheard of."

"I know. I let him know that in later years, several times, to keep him from attempting it again. He is very stubborn."

"He is indeed," the king smiled nodding in full agreement. "As is another young man I know. I'm sure that if your positions were reversed you would have done the same." Then Suleimon winced. "Why am I saying this? You don't need anymore ideas like that!"

Ardeth laughed. "I suppose I shouldn't tell you about the events from a few years ago during the wars, then."

"You may tell me if you wish. You might have to talk me down and then give me sometime to recover from the blow but you can tell me," Suleimon laughed.

"Well, first, Hamunaptra will be destroyed and the Creature dealt with not long after I become king." Ardeth tried not to smirk as Suleimon had to sit down heavily at that news.

After a while of processing the information, his face broke into a wide grin. “Son, this is marvelous news! You will be able to live in a world where you no longer have to dread the Creature’s release!” He was breathless with excitement that the Med-jai’s three thousand year watch had been at long last been rewarded.

Laughing, the other king watched his father’s enthusiasm with a smile. “There are some problems during the Year of the Scorpion—Nefertiri and Anck-su-namun were both reincarnated. Both the Creature and the Scorpion King were defeated, and the armies of Anubis sent back to the underworld. After that, World War II began. That was a dangerous time for all.”

"The Creature tried to secure the armies of Anubis?" Suleimon asked, brow furrowed. "Thank goodness you were able to stop him." At Ardeth's mention of WWII, his father scoffed. "As if the first world war didn't cause enough problems for the Med-jai. The temple guards were able to use the chaos to their advantage, allowing them to better hide their numbers and movements."

"Believe me, Father, the first World War was not nearly as dangerous for us as the second was. The O'Connells became spies for us, and the information they gathered saved countless lives."

"Excellent, my son," Suleimon beamed. The man felt very content to know that at least when he died, their people would be in safe hands with his sons to guide and protect them, and because of that, he felt no need to fear for the world in general, since these two lay watch over the ancient evils.

Ardeth sorted through his memories, and told his father of the happy times. He purposely skimmed over the many times he or Rick had been in danger, or nearly died. It was quite late before Ardeth's voice gave out.

Suleimon clapped his son on the back. "It is late my son. I have kept you awake for long enough. It is time for you to get some rest. The sun will be rising soon."

Hiding a yawn, Ardeth nodded. "Good sleep, Father." He made his way back into the tent, and to the bedroll next to Rick.

Startled by the motion in the tent Rick rolled over his gun in hand cocked and ready. When he saw Ardeth, he willed his muscles to relax and replaced the weapon back in the holster beside his bed roll. "Sorry buddy. I guess old habits die hard." They were entirely safe but it seemed as if his senses automatically went on alert when within the vicinity of a sacred site, whether it was no longer a danger or not.

Ardeth settled down next to him, moving slowly. 'It is fine, my brother.'

Rick settled back down onto the mat. "It's good to see Dad again, isn't it?" he asked quietly.

'It is very good. Did you get to talk with him at all?' Ardeth asked through the bond, taking out his canteen and drinking some water to soothe his sore throat.

‘Yeah,' Rick said as he lay on his back examined the way the moon light was streaming through the patterns of the material that made up the roof of the tent. ‘I got to tell him a little bit about Evie and Alex and his family.’

'Good. I told him some about Azizah, and some of what will happen.'

Rick nodded, sleep beginning to reclaim him. 'Did you tell him about Hamunaptra?' he asked around a yawn.

'Yes, I did. He was very excited.' Ardeth rolled over onto his side, scanning the room to make certain there weren't any problems. 'Sleep well, my brother.'

‘Sleep well, buddy.’ Rick was gone in a heart beat.

Ardeth lay still for several minutes, listening to the sounds of the tent before he fell asleep.

Morning came quickly after that. Rick was the first to stir feeling the warmth of the sun light streaming through the tent. It was a welcome way to wake up after all the foreign environments they had been in. 'Sure beats waking up to klaxons or buzzers or death threats,' he thought rolling over to see if Ardeth was awake yet or not.

The younger boy was partially awake, lying still on his bedroll, staring up at the roof of the tent. He turned his head at the sound of movement. 'Good morning, Rick.'

'Morning, Ardeth,' Rick said with a smile. 'It's nice to be back in the desert again, a friendly desert anyways, isn't it? How'd you sleep?'

'It's wonderful to be back. I slept quite well—no nightmares at all. How did you sleep?'

'I slept pretty good, but I think I may not get out of bed today,' Rick replied, a mischievous grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. 'It's nice to be in a warm environment for a change.’

'I know! I never want to leave the desert again—well, at least not for a few years.' Ardeth said, tugging his blanket a little closer around himself. 'Do you see Father anywhere? I'm surprised he isn't watching us.'

Rick sat up and pulled aside the curtain that divided their room from the main part of the tent, peering out. He smiled to see the king laying between the room where the young Rick and Ardeth had slept and the older pair of themselves. 'I imagine he's not that far off,' Rick answered the prince, chuckling inwardly at the way Suleimon's arm was stretched out protectively over both of his sons.

'He couldn't decide who to watch over, could he? This is so confusing!'

'You can say that again.' Rick smiled as he sat up. Now he was wide awake and couldn't go back to sleep. He slid on his clothes quickly, ready to stretch his legs.

Ardeth sat up, stretching carefully. 'Is anyone around the fire? We could burn our old clothes now.'

Rick pulled the curtain aside again for a second. He shook his head. 'No, it seems all clear. Everyone is still asleep. 'Course no telling if that will change once there's movement; you wake up at the drop of a hat, and somehow I doubt that has changed over the years.'

The younger boy shrugged. 'He won't tell on us--he is me, after all.'

Rick inclined his head. 'You have a point,' he conceded as he dug up his old clothes as quietly as he could.

Ardeth dug his up as well, and both boys crept to the fire. It was still going. The adult Ardeth did wake up at their movements, but just rolled his eyes and went back to sleep.

Rick threw his younger brother a grin as he dumped his clothes carefully into the fire. He didn't want any evidence left behind.

Making certain not to smother the fire, Ardeth added his own clothing. Both boys watched with satisfaction as the evidence of what had happened vanished into flame and smoke.

A voice seemed to come out of the thin air behind them for they'd heard nobody enter the tent. "Well, the sun has not yet risen and you two are already up to your usual antics," Gen said quietly so as not to wake anyone else. While he had assumed they were trying to prank someone, he noticed how Rick's eyes flitted nervously to the fire. He stopped and approached them. "What exactly are you two doing?"

Ardeth shifted a little so that he was between Gen and the fire. "Nothing, Gen—we're doing nothing."

Gen recognized Ardeth's tone and had not missed the prince's subtle movement. Since he was usually included in their mischievous activities he knew something more serious was going on.

Seeing Gen's expression and knowing the man wouldn't drop it, Ardeth sighed. "We are burning a reminder of some of the unpleasant things that occurred when we were in the future."

Gen nodded understandingly to the two boys and went back to his original chore of getting food out to provide breakfast. "Well, hopefully this will help,” he said as he pulled out Ardeth's and Rick's favorite foods. Suleimon had ordered it the night before.

Both boys grinned brightly. "Thank you, Gen." Ardeth glanced at the fire, and saw that the clothing was almost completely gone. There wasn't enough left for anyone to figure out what it had been.

"You will, I'm afraid have to make room at the fire for me though," Gen said as he finished pulling his utensils out. Soon, the aroma of freshly cooked food filled the tent providing a pleasant wake-up call for the adults.

The adult Ardeth came stumbling over and claimed a plate of Gen's food. "I have missed this greatly."

The older Rick agreed with him. "This never gets old," he said sitting down with a plate in his lap. The younger Rick waited long enough to thank Gen before cramming his mouth with food.

SG-1 and Jacob joined them a few minutes later. Daniel gravitated towards the coffee, but when Jonas tried to get some, everyone tried to keep him from it. They all remembered how hyper the Kelownan got on caffeine.

The young O'Connell looked at the Kelownan in confusion. "What's the matter? Are you allergic?"

The man was pouting at Jack. The colonel raised an eyebrow. "No, he's not allergic. It just makes him a very nasty person to be around."

The young Rick chuckled at the look on Jonas’ face. He almost wanted to sneak some to the poor guy.

"The caffeine helped me to be more energetic, and to accomplish more," Jonas argued weakly, giving Jack his best 'puppy-dog look', as the colonel called it.

"Yeah, like driving the rest of us insane!" Jack retorted shaking his head. "No! Here! Have some very invigorating tea!" he said as he handed Jonas a full mug and waving his hand dismissively at it.

The man sighed, and sat back to drink his tea, trying to hide a satisfied smirk. He actually preferred tea, but the best way to get it was to make the colonel feel guilty about denying him coffee.

Rick saw the look on the man's face and wondered what other kind of devious plans he used to mess with the heads of SG-1. He looked over at Jacob wanting to ask him a question but not so sure that he wanted to do it in front of so many people. But as he considered that they were going home sometime today he realized he wouldn't get another chance for a hundred years. He didn't want to wait long. "So what are you all going to do with the goa'uld?" he asked the first Med-jai, his voice solemn.

Jacob turned to look at him. "We are working to accomplish the defeat of the goa'uld. The Tok'ra, the Tauri, and the Free Jaffa have allied to take down Anubis and the System Lords."

"No, I mean the goa'uld that you took from me."

Jacob and Selmak looked Rick over carefully. "He will be questioned for any information he might have, then destroyed. He is too much of a threat to leave alive after learning of the Med-jai."

After a moment Rick nodded. He was relieved to hear this, not wanting anyone to suffer the same fate that he had or worse. He then went back to eating his breakfast.

Suleimon was sitting between the two pairs of his sons, trying to be as close to all of them as he could manage. The younger Ardeth smiled and spoke to Rick through the bond. 'Imagine what Father would be like if he had any more children!'

Rick chuckled to think of the king tending to them all, almost not knowing which child to go to first.

"When must you leave?" Suleimon asked Jack, as he ate his own meal.

"Do you have any other business that needs settling here?" Jack asked the adult Ardeth and Rick.

The two exchanged a glance. "I cannot think of anything." Ardeth said, pushing his hair back. "Other than kidnapping Gen so he can cook for us, I think our responsibilities in this time are accomplished."

The young Rick wrapped a possessive hand around Gen's arm, looking much like a two year old clutching a favored toy. "You can't have him!" He then looked at his twin noting the irony of that statement.

The younger Ardeth was snickering, watching Gen's face. He was both stunned and amused that he was being argued over.

"Well, we probably ought to leave today," Jack replied, hiding his amused grin. "Do get me wrong we'd love to stay, but now that the boys are safe, we have to get back to the SGC. You all are saving the world in your time and we have to get back to saving the world in ours. It just keeps getting into trouble, doesn't it T?" Jack commented.

"Indeed it does, O'Neill," Teal'c commented gravely, and both boys looked disappointed.

"At least come to morning training with us!" Ardeth asked Teal'c, wanting to see the Jaffa go against his father.

Teal'c looked at O'Neill who nodded the answer to his unspoken question. They could stay a few more hours. It's not like they were wasting time dallying when they had a time machine.

"I would be most honored," Teal'c said bowing his head to the prince.

Rick was excited, glad that Suleimon would get a chance to see the jaffa warrior in action before they left.

The older Ardeth laughed. "Excellent, I've been waiting to see this again for years!"

"Perhaps, you could join us," Teal'c offered. "Having seen your skills at fourteen I am eager to see how masterful you are in our time."

The king shrugged a little. "I would enjoy that. It will certainly be somewhat easier to match strength with you now, than it was then."

Teal'c inclined his head at Ardeth's acceptance. Jacob smiled. He was looking forward to this as well. Teal'c was one of the best fighters he had ever encountered as were all the members of SG-1. Selmak saw in Ardeth and his people as close to family as he had ever known, the same way that Jacob felt about Sam. He had great confidence that the match would be quite a sight to be seen.

The adult Ardeth glanced around the tent. "Gen, would you please have some of the men prepare the training area for a match?"

Gen nodded and headed out the door. It wasn't long before the master of spies came back to report that the training ground was ready for them.

Ardeth stood. "I'm going to go stretch out. Is anyone joining me?"

Teal'c rose and so did Rick. "Oh, this I definitely cannot miss!" O'Connell commented a huge smile on his face. The rest of the group also followed eager to see the match.


	29. Chapter 29

Suleimon and the older Rick stood with Jacob and the rest of SG-1 as they watched the combatants warm up for the tournament.

Ardeth went through his stretches quietly and carefully. He knew that he and Teal'c were much more evenly matched now strength-wise, and it would be interesting to see how much his own style had changed over the years.

Once they were done warming up, they stood opposite each other. Teal'c bowed to Ardeth in respect. At the sidelines, the young Rick looked at his twin in excitement. 'This is gonna be good! Can you believe we get to see how strong you will be in a hundred years?'

Ardeth was grinning, also thrilled. 'I want to see how much I've learned with a scimitar! Maybe there will be some new moves I can use against Father later!'

Gen handed both warriors a scimitar. The former First Prime of Apophis tested the weight in his hands again since this was only his second instance of fighting with one. Ardeth and Teal'c circled, each of them carefully evaluating the movements and the stance of their opponent. After a moment Teal'c initiated combat, bringing the blade at the Med-jai royal in a series of strokes.

Ardeth easily blocked them, letting the Jaffa get a feel for the weapon. He returned the attacks with a group of short, hard thrusts and swipes, moving lightly across the sand.

Teal'c held the scimitar deftly deflecting the king's blows. He took a step back so that Ardeth's sword and a little further to go before reaching him. Using the curve of the blade, he tried to turn his scimitar around Ardeth's to dislodge it from his hand.

The Med-jai smiled. That was a move that everyone new to a scimitar tried at some point or another. He let Teal'c wrap their blades together, then twisted his own sharply, nearly wrenching the Jaffa's scimitar away.

Teal'c was only barely able to hold onto his, but despite the fact that he had nearly lost his weapon, a smile touched his face. Ardeth's skills had improved. Incredibly so. He only held onto this revelation for a second once again bringing his focus back to the fight. The weapon he had could not give him an advantage; Ardeth was too great an expert on its use. He had to try another way to gain the upper hand. He feigned a swing at Ardeth trying to force him to move in a certain direction and then quickly went down into a round-house kick trying to knock his legs out from under him.

As Ardeth fell, he turned it into a roll and came up with a flip, bringing his scimitar down on Teal'c from midair. Sand was flying everywhere.

Teal'c side-stepped the swing coming at Ardeth from behind with the flat of the blade trying to catch the Med-jai before he found firm footing again.

Sensing the movement behind him, Ardeth ducked and rolled again. He came up in a spray of sand, and didn't give Teal'c a change to try anything else before he attacked in a series of fast, sudden lunges and slashes.

Teal'c found himself quickly losing ground under the ferocity of Ardeth's attacks. Pretty soon it was all he could do just to block the Med-jai's swings.

Keeping out of reach of Teal'c's arms so that he couldn't be grabbed, the king brought one foot up to kick Teal'c in the wrist just as he locked blades with the other warrior.

Teal'c's scimitar went clattering to the ground. He crouched, backing away trying to make it over to the weapon quickly.

Ardeth's other foot came kicking up, catching Teal'c just under the chin and flipping him onto his back. The Med-jai stepped forward enough to press the scimitar blade to Teal's throat, but not close enough that his ankle could be grabbed. "Do you yield?"

Once again a smile spread across Teal'c's face. "Indeed."

Sheathing his scimitar, Ardeth offered a hand to help Teal'c up. "An excellent match, my friend."

Teal'c accepted his hand, and once he was on his feet again, he bowed to Ardeth. "Indeed it was. Your skill has greatly increased my friend. You are a most skilled opponent and an even greater ally." Both Ricks were cheering from the sidelines of the arena. Suleimon was applauding his son, beaming from ear to ear with a proud smile. He was greatly impressed with both warriors, but especially with his son's abilities.

Ardeth bowed back politely. "Would you care to go a round with your weapon of choice?"

"I would like that very much," Teal'c said smiling.

Jack nodded. "I'll go get them." The colonel went over to the time jumper and returned with a pair of staff weapons, handing one to each of them. He stood back, interested to see how this would go. Teal'c had told him back at the SGC that he had been training with the boys teaching them how to use staff weapons, and he was interested to see the results.

Swinging the staff weapon around, Ardeth kept his grip loose. After the bit of training he had received from Teal'c all those years ago, he had worked a long time on his own, and with Rick's help, to become proficient with the staff.

Teal'c nodded, pleased. "I see you have been practicing since our initial combat. You will do quite well." He held the staff out in front of him taking up a ready stance as he waited for Ardeth to initiate combat this time.

Ardeth slid forward, and brought one end of the staff up to jab at Teal'c's chest, while using the other end to keep the Jaffa's staff away from himself.

Teal'c blocked the blow with a quick turn of his wrist spinning his staff outward. He then twirled the weapon in a number of different types of swings to see how far Ardeth had come along with his training.

The Med-jai king blocked each blow, putting enough strength behind the blocks to turn them into minor attacks.

"Very good. Your form is excellent," Teal'c commented. He then began to swing the staff, using more advance moves. He twirled his weapon, sliding the tip suddenly in between Ardeth and his staff.

Letting go of one end, Ardeth used the force of Teal'c's tug against the weapon to send the end of the staff against Teal'c.

Caught slightly off-guard, Teal'c took the blow, but it only took him a fraction of a second to recover. He spun his staff up over his head and brought it down on Ardeth following it up with a series of blows aimed at both the Med-jai's head and feet.

It took Ardeth a minute to get into the rhythm of the attack. Once he found it, he wove through the attacks. Clanking wood echoed through the desert air as the two men circled and fought.

Changing tactics, Teal'c feigned an attack from the left but then rolled suddenly to he right trying to catch Ardeth unawares, coming up and swinging his staff out at the man.

Crouching at the last minute, Ardeth barely managed to avoid the attack. He shoved his staff between Teal'c's ankles and twisted, hoping to knock the man over.

Teal'c fell at Ardeth's unexpected attack but rolled as he hit the ground. He came up angling his staff defensively in case the Med-jai was bearing down on him.

Ardeth wasn't attacking--in fact, he had used Teal'c's rolling to circle the man and get behind him. A breath of movement was all the warning Teal'c had before the Med-jai twisted his staff over Teal'c's head and pressed it very lightly against his throat.

Completely caught unaware, Teal'c blanched for a second before bursting out with an approving laugh. "Excellent, young warrior. You have taken the staff and made it your own. Well done," he congratulated the victor.

The Med-jai released Teal'c and backed away, offering his arm to Teal'c. "Well fought--that was the most challenging match I've had in years."

Teal'c clasped Ardeth's arm firmly. "I must agree. Never have I fought so skilled an opponent perhaps only with the exception of Master Bra'tac himself. It would be most satisfying to see the two of you in a match sometime in the near future."

"Well done, my son," Suleimon said as he approached. He clapped Ardeth's back with admiration for his son's talent.

Ardeth smiled at both Teal'c and Suleimon. "When we are back in our time, we shall have to attempt to arrange such a match." He turned to the other king. "Thank you, Father. I'm glad you enjoyed it."

Jacob and the rest of SG-1 also congratulated them both for the battles, much impressed with both warriors.

"What did you and Selmak think of the duels?" Ardeth asked, as he accepted a wet cloth from his twin to clean up some.

"Impressive," Jacob replied beaming, "especially considering that you only had a couple of lessons with Teal'c. You have mastered the staff weapon as well as adapting it to your own fighting style and come up with some new tricks. I ought to ask you to come train some of the Tok'ra sometime."

"That would be an experience. You should bring some of them to visit Kiriyah Gan sometime—they might learn some interesting things." Ardeth suggested.

"They might at that," Jacob agreed with a smile. "I will pass your offer along to the Tok'ra High Council. I'm sure when time and mission permit they would be glad to visit. Though with the way things have been going with the system lords, it might be a while yet before we are able to accept your gracious invitation. The goa'uld are taking heavy losses and that has made them aware of how vulnerable they are. Because of this they are starting to move more cautiously. Their over confidence is their greatest weakness and now we are having to move twice as fast to keep ahead of them. But with your permission, I would be glad to visit whenever I get a break between assignments. It has been good to be among the Med-jai again," he sighed with a contented smile.

"You are welcome to come whenever you are able." Ardeth promised, then turned to Rick. 'Anything else that we need to do to keep history the same?' he asked, through their bond.

'Not that I'm aware of,' Rick replied shaking his head.

Ardeth turned to Jack. "We are ready to head back whenever you are."

O'Neill nodded, and turned to his team. "Let's go people, gather up our stuff. It's time to head home." Meanwhile Rick and Ardeth turned to Suleimon to say their good-byes again.

Rick's voice wavered slightly as he spoke. "I'm gonna miss you, Dad," he said as he wrapped the king in a tight embrace.

"I will miss you as well, my son. Be well, take care of your brother and your family. Know that I love you very much."

"I will, I promise. I love you too, Dad." He clasped his father's arm before stepping back and allowing Ardeth his turn.

Ardeth stepped into his father's embrace, very glad to have this one last chance to hug his father. "I love you, Father. Be safe, and thank you for your help last night."

"You're welcome, my son. I love you too. I want you to know that I am exceedingly proud of both of you." His embrace tightened for a moment around Ardeth and he hated to let go, but as he released his grasp he smiled assuringly at his sons.

The two Med-jai turned to face their younger selves. Ardeth smiled warmly at both of them. "Try to stay out of trouble. And remember--Father won't judge, and he is an excellent listener."

The younger pair nodded slowly, knowing what Ardeth was referring to.

"Thank you for saving us," the young Rick said.

The older Rick waved dismissively. "Ahh, it's nothing. I'm sure if our positions were reversed the two of you would do the same."

The boys laughed at that. "Have a safe trip back to your time." Ardeth told them.

"Thank you," Rick said nodding as he and the older Ardeth walked towards the time jumper where Jacob and SG-1 were waiting for them. "Can I drive this time?" he teasingly asked his brother as they neared the vehicle and barely dodged the swat in time.

"My brother, you need a lesson in humility!" Ardeth grumbled, as he settled into his seat in the time jumper.

"Awww, come on," Rick whined though he couldn't keep the grin from his face at achieving the desired response.

"Don't make me separate you two," Jack called out over his shoulder. "If I have to come back there I will turn this time ship right around!"

"And do what, exactly, for the next 96 years?" Ardeth asked, voice wry.

"Well," Jack said as if seriously contemplating the idea. "I'll find me a nice spot along the Nile and we can all do some fishing." This elicited a groan of despair from Teal'c which made Jack look back at his in shocked disappointment.

"I'm sure that would be enjoyable. However, most of the Nile does not have any places where there are no crocodiles. You would have to fight them for your fish."

Jack winced at the idea. "Well.... then... we'll head up to my place in Montana."

"But technically, sir, your place in Montana won't exist yet." Carter pointed out.

"Well, yeah, but the lake'll still be there, won't it?" Jack said slowly.

"Yes, sir, the lake should be there," Carter's voice was patient. "But I think General Hammond is expecting us back soon."

"Yes, true." Jack powered up the ship.

As they hovered over the ground, Rick found he couldn't resist one last jibe. "Are we there yet?"

"Pardon me, colonel, I must deal with my brother." Ardeth moved to sit next to Rick, and caught his twin in a headlock.

Rick laughed maniacally despite his struggle against his brother's hold on him.

'So, my brother, are you having fun?' Ardeth asked through the bond, as he kept his hold on Rick.

'Yeah pretty much,' Rick replied flashing his brother a cocky grin, fully aware that he still after all these years retained the power to bait and annoy his younger brother. 'I can still get under your skin. And it's so easy too!’ he marveled with triumph.

'The problem right now, my dear brother, is that you haven't just managed to annoy me.' Ardeth told him, with a smirk.

Rick's smile dimmed slightly, but not by much. 'And then just what, pray tell, have I done?' he asked.

‘I think it might be the crazed laughter,' Ardeth offered, letting go of Rick.

Rick sighed in mock disappointment. 'Nuts. Don't worry, I'll be sure to try harder next time,' he promised his twin.

Ardeth rolled his eyes. 'I think we're almost there.'

Rick chuckled clapping his brother on the back, taking one last look at Ahm Khalud at the Med-jai below the hovering ship waving their farewell. His eyes found Suleimon standing with the younger pair at his side as all three waved at the time jumper.

The king watched them quietly, memorizing the scene. It was wonderful to have seen his father again, and he intended to remember their talk for the rest of his life.

Rick smiled as he silently said good-bye once more to the only father he had ever know, his eyes shining.


	30. Chapter 30

Down below, the Med-jai royal family looked on after a moment the ship disappeared against the sky. Rick sighed deeply his eyes returning to survey the land around them. After a second he turned and looked at Ardeth an expression of relief on his face. "It's over," he breathed. "We're home." Now that the time jumper was gone, he felt a little more assured that no inadvertent mishap would send them careening back into the future again, but he knew better than to say so out loud.

"Yes, we are. And I don't want to leave for a very, very long time!"

"Me neither!" Rick heartily agreed.

"And you won't," Suleimon chimed in wrapping an arm around each of the boys possessively. Rick let the king pull him to himself relaxing slightly reassured by the king's protective embrace.

Gen stepped closer to the family. "Shall I have the tribe start packing, so we can return to Kiriyah Gan?"

"Yes, thank you, Gen," the king replied nodding his head in approval. He turned and looked at the crumbling ruins which now no longer emanated an ominous sense of foreboding and exhaled deeply in satisfaction. "Shall we go prepare for the journey too?" he asked his sons a wide smile on his face.

"Yes, Father. I want to sleep in my own bed!" Ardeth murmured, as he started towards the tent to pack his things.

Suleimon smiled at this remark as he followed the two boys who began to pack with furious speed. This had to affects at first he was amused by how eager they were, but then the king also felt a stab of pain as he remembered the reason they were so anxious to retreat to familiar ground. But he kept on smiling, not wanting to make them feel awkward or to remind them of their pain.

'I can't wait to try out some of those moves on Father, and the sword-trainer at my next lesson!" Ardeth told Rick through the bond, as he bundled up the last of his gear.

'Yeah me too! You were awesome! As soon as you get those moves down you have teach me,' Rick agreed enthusiastically.

'I will.' Ardeth promised, and sat back, hiding a yawn. 'I cannot wait to be home.'

'Neither can I,' Rick said as he dragged his finished pack over to the pile then sat down beside his brother. He was already picturing the view from Ardeth's balcony and imagining the feel of the spray from the numerous waterfalls misting down on his face. 'I doubt we'll get such a warm welcome from your cousins though,' he murmured mischeviously. 'Though hopefully we can hide from them in garden maze.'

'We won't have to do anything to protect ourselves from them. Once Father tells everyone we got captured again, all of the older women will protect us from my cousins, and give them all sorts of chores to do.'

Rick laughed. 'That's true. Bless them!'

After a while the Med-jai had finished breaking down the tents and loading the equipment. They were ready to depart. Rick excited mounted his horse and sidled it up to his brothers. "Ready to go?"

The younger boy nodded, and glanced over at Suleimon. "Will you give the order to leave, Father?" He asked. Since he had been the one to lead the tribe there to carry out the duty, it was traditionally his right to give the call to leave, but since the king was present, it was always important to offer it to him.

"Why don't you give the order this time," Suleimon said to his son smiling, bestowing the honor on Ardeth. "You have more than earned the right."

"Thank you, Father." Ardeth smiled at Suleimon, then turned his horse so he was looking over the warriors assembled, ready to ride to Kiriyah Gan. He yelled out the command in Arabic, and laughed at the power of the answering yell, then kicked his horse forward.

First the king followed, then Rick, and then the rest of the troops forming a procession behind the prince, who even now, to his brother and father looked quite like his older self who had left shortly before. The caravan made their way quickly out from the silent ruins on their way home. By the time the son was setting the mountain sheltering Kiriyah Gan was in sight.

With a bit of extra effort, they were able to make it to the caverns just inside the hidden entrance not long after true night settled over the desert. The guards posted their were very glad to see the royal family, but confused as to why the entire guard had returned.

The king informed the guards within the entrance of the victory at Ahm Khalud. The guards rejoiced congratulating the young princes on their triumph.

Rick and Ardeth smiled and thanked the men politely, but as soon as possible, they fled to the hot springs. 'We're almost home.'

'Yeah,' he said grinning at his younger brother. 'Last one in the springs is a rotten egg!' he challenged. Quickly he stripped out of his clothes and did a cannonball into one of the pools. Though he came up grimacing slightly from the extreme and sudden change in temperatures, he smiled as his body slowly acclimated to the steaming pool of water.

Ardeth was sitting just inside, watching him, grinning. 'A cannonball? Very amusing.'

'I've always wanted to do that,' Rick said slowly, 'and I'll never do that again.' His face displayed a sheepish grin at his admission.

'Discovered the difficulties of jumping in as opposed to easing in?' Ardeth asked, grinning.

'Yeah, just a little.' Rick leaned back at the edge of the pool. Rick massaged his neck a bit stopping slightly at the scar he still bore from the implantation he had undergone, the smile on his face fading. He let his hand rest there for a second before quickly pulling it away. He looked over at his brother, knowing he must also bear several scars from their abuse. More actually since the presence of the symbiote had healed a good deal of his own. 'How are you doing?' he asked tentatively.

'I will be very glad to be in the safety of the city,' Ardeth said, leaning back in the hot spring and running his fingers over his own new scars. 'How are you doing?'

'The same,' Rick said quietly, but then the corners of his mouth turned upward into a grin. 'And a little hungry.'

'I have no doubt someone will be coming to fetch us soon--after all that happened, they won't chance us missing a meal.'

'Yes, but no more bread and jerky!' Rick declared firmly. 'If I ever have to eat a meal solely comprised of bread and jerky again, I'll scream!'

Ardeth laughed. 'I understand, and empathize. Let's get dressed—I think someone's coming, and I don't want them to see our new scars just yet.'

Rick and Ardeth both jumped out of the pool, hurriedly drying off and quickly donning their clothes which clung to the parts of their body that were still damp.

Amir came around the corner, and looked surprised to see them dressed. "Done with the pools already?"

"Yeah," Rick said nodding casually. "We're ready to be home," he explained.

"I can understand that. Well, come along—supper is ready."

"Yes! Food!" Rick threw his arms up into the air jubilant. He ran down to where dinner was set up his shirt still halfway unbuttoned, the cuffs of his shirt still hanging loose about his fingertips.

Laughing, Ardeth followed behind his twin, making certain that his own clothing was fully in place. His new scars were far too obvious right now.

As Rick and Ardeth sat down to dinner, Rick hastily finished buttoning up his shirt so he didn't look quite so comical as plates were set before both of them. Much to Rick's and Ardeth's delight there was no bread or jerky amongst the steaming entrees of fresh food.

Both boys impressed the adults with how rapidly and how much they ate. By the end of the meal, though, Ardeth was completely exhausted. He was fighting the urge to lean against his father's strong arm, since they were in a public area, and as a prince he needed to maintain some dignity.

"Feel better?" Suleimon asked as the boys finished their meal.

"Yes, Father." Ardeth said, around a yawn.

"Then I don't suppose the two of you have the energy to make the journey down into the city tonight?" he teased with a wicked grin.

At that, Ardeth perked up immediately. "And skip the usual parade tomorrow? That would be excellent!"

Suleimon smiled broadly at his son's excitement. "Then let's get ready."

Ardeth and Rick exchanged a glance. 'Race you to the horses!'

Rick could hear Suleimon's laughter trailing after them as he and Ardeth raced down the hall to where the horses were kept.

Both boys skidded to a halt right next to their faithful horses. The war stallions looked around for any threat to their masters, but didn't find anything, so they went back to grazing.

Ardeth was the first to swing up into the saddle and Rick only a second later, since he was still getting used to mounting and riding horses. 'You win buddy,' Rick conceded the victory to Ardeth.

'You are getting faster. It won't be long before your longer legs win, my brother.'

'Maybe,' Rick said tilting his head in thought, 'but longer legs don't necessarily mean faster. I had to learn that the hard way.'

'This is true. But with practice, you will have both longer legs and speed, Rick. Don't worry, I will do my best to always be faster than you.'

Rick rested a hand on his chest feigning a sigh of relief. 'Thanks for that Ardeth, I feel better now,' he said laughing. Around this time Suleimon and the rest of the party was entering the room and mounting their steeds.

Most of the adults were very pleased and relieved to see the boys joking around. Those that knew them best were still concerned, but able to wait.

Soon everyone was present and seated in their saddles, and they began the descent down into the city. Rick looked down from the ledge. It was different entering the city at night. But the moon was bright and full casting just enough light to see it by once their eyes adjusted to the darkness. The pale light reflected off the pools and endless waterfalls. It was a breathtaking sight.

'You haven't seen the city at night before, have you?' Ardeth asked, as his horse carefully picked his way down the path.

'No,' Rick murmured, entranced by the sight of the twinkling lights emanating from homes and building in the valley given their flickering appearance by the waving of the trees around them in the light breeze. He looked over at his brother with a contented smile. 'We're home.'

'Yes, we are.' Ardeth sighed, feeling the relaxed, safe air of Kiriyah Gan wrap around them, embracing them and welcoming them home.

As they rode through the city those few still out welcomed the party warmly, overjoyed that one of the sacred sites no longer posed a threat to the Med-jai and humanity. Soon the procession was entering the palace.

Ardeth and Rick said goodnight to most of the people that had followed them into the palace in the main entrance hall. They hurried upstairs to the room they shared, eager to be back in the safety of their own place.

Rick ran over and jumped onto his bed just allowing himself to lay there for a few minutes, chuckling lightly. "Bed! No klaxons, no guards, no scratchy sheets!" He sat up after a moment and, still fully clothed, burrowed his way under the soft blankets. "Wake me up in a couple of weeks," his muffled voice emanated through the layers of cloth.

"As you wish. Sleep well, my brother." Ardeth went into the attached washroom and took off his travel-stained clothing. He slid on a pair of loose, comfortable pants, and a shirt before retreating to his own bed.

Hours later, the peaceful night air was rent with cries of fear as both princes woke suddenly from a sleep plagued with dreams of their recent past. Rick sat cringing in bed huddled back against the wall his bed stood against. He flailed for a moment trying to defend himself from the phantasmic attacker that still hung about him as he frantically called Ardeth's name.

Suleimon came running into the room, scimitar in hand. Realizing it was a nightmare and not assailants, the man dropped his sword and grabbed Ardeth, tugging the boy onto Rick's bed. He wrapped an arm around both of their shoulders.

Rick startled by the touch cringed away from Suleimon’s touch a second before he collected himself willing his muscles to relax and scooting closer to the king.

The king's hold was gentle, but firm. "Be calm, my sons. What dream plagues you this night?"

Rick had to take a couple of deep breaths before he could speak. "Agent Vek," he murmured slowly, his eyes haunted, "was interrogating us for the location of Hamunaptra."

Ardeth just buried his face in his father's sleep shirt, refusing to speak. "Would you tell me about it?" Suleimon rubbed his arm up and down Rick's back, trying to sooth the boy.

Rick swallowed hard, and tried to keep his voice even as he spoke. "They... beat us. They would try to use us against each other and threaten to torture Ardeth if I didn't answer their questions or me if he didn't give them the information they wanted." He paused, closing his eyes in pain at the memories. "They tried to poison Ardeth, branded me, shot both of us..." By now tears were flowing silently down his face. "Then he would go to each of us telling us what he had done in detail," Rick whispered bitterly between clenched teeth. "And we tried to protect each other but..." his voice trailed off.

"Oh, my children," Suleimon held both boys tight to his chest. "I wish I could take the pain and memories away from you. Be at peace—you are safe now."

Rick held tight to the king, more so than he had ever clung to anyone, every ounce of pride or dignity discarded for the moment. He reached over to rest a hand on his brother's arm.

Ardeth was shivering, but grabbed Rick's had and held it tight. "It was so terrible, Father," the younger boy whispered.

Suleimon's face contorted in sorrow that he felt for them both. Ardeth's terrified voice pierced his heart like a blade. "I know, my son," he breathed as he leaned slightly to kiss the boy's forehead. "But they cannot touch you now. They will never harm you again." He settled back against the wall cradling his sons, deciding to stay with Rick and Ardeth for the rest of the night. He knew it would be of comfort to him as well to have them near and safe after all they had endured.

Both boys pressed as close as they could to their father, seeking the comfort he offered. It took quite a while before they started to relax enough to realize how tired they still were.

Rick's eyes were drooping as the king used every ounce of magic he could to banish the boys' nightmare for the rest of the night.

Ardeth fought off the sleep just enough to whisper, "Thank you, Father,"

"You're welcome my sons," he replied as both boys fell asleep once more. Without disturbing them, he moved his arms carefully able to pull the covers on O'Connell's bed up around the princes. Then he leaned his head back pulling both Ardeth and Rick that much closer to him, standing watch over his children like a silent sentinel.


	31. Chapter 31

Both boys woke up early the next morning. Ardeth woke up first, and it took him several minutes to figure out why exactly he was not sleeping in his own bed.

Suleimon did not stir immediately since he had stayed awake for a while after the boys had gone to sleep to make sure they were resting peacefully. Rick's eyes opened slowly at Ardeth's movements. He looked up at Ardeth. 'Hey buddy,' he greeted his brother as he yawned.

'Good morning. Did you have any more trouble sleeping?' Ardeth asked, smiling at his father. He didn't try to get out of the man's hold, letting him sleep for a little while longer.

'No. You?' Rick asked as he pulled the covers up over his shoulders a bit. There was a pleasant breeze blowing in from the balcony, but he wasn't ready to abandon the warmth of his bed yet.

'None at all. Father must have shielded both of our dreams last night.' The younger boy yawned. 'That was a really bad nightmare—I'm not sure which of us had it first, but it trapped both of us through our bond.'

Rick shuddered. He touched the brand mark which had almost burned last night even though the nerves in that area he knew had to have been damaged beyond the point of healing. It had felt so real and the helplessness to protect himself and his brother still plagued him.

Ardeth reached around Suleimon to grab Rick's hand. 'Are you all right, my brother?'

He took a deep breath. 'No. I feel like I should have been able to stop them, to protect you. I keep thinking back through it wondering if I could have done something to keep it from getting so far out of control. I know that there was nothing I really could have done, but still...'

Ardeth twisted slightly in his father's hold so that he could meet Rick's eyes. 'I know how you feel, Rick. I feel the same way. It is worse for you in many ways—I have had some training in how to deal with torture. But this was so much different than lessons about it than experiencing it.'

Rick shook his head, not even wanting to think about what a person would have to endure to learn how to cope with being tortured. The real thing was terrible enough and he dearly hoped those would count towards his lessons. He looked at Ardeth concerned. 'How about you? Are you alright?'

'Now that we are safely home, it will be easier to let the memories go. But it will be a very long time until I am back to normal, I think."

Rick nodded. He knew it would take a long time for the both of them. Suleimon woke from the boys' movements and smiled down warmly at Rick and Ardeth. "Did you two sleep well?"

"Yes, Father. Thank you," Ardeth hugged Suleimon, perfectly content to stay tucked under his father's arm for the rest of the morning.

"Yeah. Thanks, Dad," Rick said as he too leaned against the king closing his eyes in relief. 'We're home,' he breathed inwardly.

'Yes, we are.' Ardeth answered. Suleimon shook his head slightly as he looked down at the boys clinging to him. It was too bad the people who had hurt his sons were in the future—he would have enjoyed hunting them down and dealing with them.

A soft knock came at the door. At the king's bidding, one of the workers in the palace entered the room to announce that breakfast had been prepared for them.

The worker was a little surprised to find them all huddled together on Rick's bed, but didn't comment. The boys perked up at the mention of food. 'Just so long as it's not jerky and water!' Ardeth thought to Rick.

'Here, here!' Rick agreed. Then he nearly burst out laughing to think picture Ardeth making his first decree when he became king, banning jerky and bread from any and all Med-jai meals.

Once the worker had gone, Suleimon tightened his grip on the boys momentarily. "I'll let you two change," he said as he rose and walked to the door.

Not objecting to the temporary reprieve of having to reveal their new scars, the boys washed up and scrambled into clean clothing. They raced to the dining room.

Suleimon burst out laughing as the boys scurried in almost knocking over a couple of Ardeth's cousins in the process who were trying to sneak some of their dishes onto the table. Rick honestly couldn't tell if Ardeth had seen them ahead of time and slammed into one of them on purpose, though he very much doubted it, or if it was a blessing of chance that sent the dishes they carried clattering to the floor.

Staring with wide eyes at his cousin, Ardeth stammered out an apology, then fled to one of the old ladies in the room. He greeted her and asked how she was doing, using her as a shield against his furious cousin.

The cousin looked dumbfounded for a second between Ardeth and her precious entree that she had baked in honor of his return all over the floor. Rick in an effort to help ward her off helped her to clean up the mess and escorted her back into the kitchen before coming back out and pulling Ardeth over to the table, making sure to keep himself between the prince and the kitchen door should she decide to return and seek her revenge. 'That was close,' Rick breathed actually had an expression that was torn between laughter and fear of the fuming girl.

'Thank you for your aid, my brother.' Ardeth said, shaking his head. 'I did not mean to cause such a mess, but I am rather glad I did!'

'You and me both, but we might wanna watch our backs for the next couple of days.' Then once all the food was out on the table they started dishing healthy servings onto both of their plates, as did the king.

The rest of the household soon joined them—for the morning and noon meals, everyone in the royal household ate together. At night, the royal family dined alone in their private chambers.

The cousin that the boys had knocked over kept throwing harsh glances in their direction. In these cases Rick would lean forward blocking Ardeth from her view. Soon the boys had finished their plates and then seconds.

"Alright, boys. Once you are cleaned up, come to my study so that we can figure out your schedule for lessons once again." Suleimon told them, before they could slip off.

'Nuts,' Rick whispered through the bond as he and Ardeth stood up to leave the table. "Okay, Dad," he acknowledged the command.

"Yes, Father," Ardeth said also, and the boys hurried from the room when the outraged cousin stood and started for them again.

They just barely made it to their room, spinning and putting all their weight against the door once they were safely inside. Rick panted, trying to catch his breath.

'That was close,' Ardeth deliberately turned the lock, and grinned at Rick. 'Let's get cleaned up—she'll be listening at the door, and not hearing us talk with drive her crazy!'

Rick laughed and moved across to the room to the trunk at the foot of his bed puling out a clean set of clothes that wasn't covered in the whatever composed the dish that they had inadvertently knocked to the floor.

Ardeth changed his robe, and cleaned off his boots. 'You know, Father will probably want to test you to see how much you have improved with the scimitar.'

'Well, with how much practice we had over this past stint, I hope he approves of my progress,' Rick said smiling at his brother as he tugged his boots back on and buttoning up his fresh shirt.

'I recommend using your left hand to surprise him—he will not be expecting that at all.'

Rick grinned broadly. 'You think I did that well?'

Ardeth grinned. 'You did very well. I think if you move quickly enough after surprising him by using your left hand, you may be able to get his scimitar away from him for a minute.'

'Thanks. I'll try that,' Rick said as he picked up his holster for a moment out of habit. He stopped though staring at it for a second before he shook his head and placed it back on the bed. He was in Kiriyah Gan now and had to remind himself that he didn't need it.

'Come, let's go out the secret passage—she's still waiting at the door for us to come back out.'

'Good idea,' Rick said, casting an anxious look back over his shoulder at the door. For a second he wasn't sure but he thought he could feel the malice emanating through the sturdy bed chamber doors threatening to reach them even as they moved to the opposite end of the room.

Leading the way through the passage, Ardeth wrinkled up his nose at the dust. 'I need to remind Father that the secret passages need to be cleaned out again. When they're this dusty, we can be tracked easily.'

Though Ardeth was right, Rick hid a grin at the idea of someone dusting a secret passageway. 'Whenever I think of secret passageways, dust dirt and cobwebs automatically come to my mind. I thought that was a requisite.'

The younger boy laughed. 'No, we keep ours as neat as possible. Look behind us. If an enemy were to somehow enter Kiriyah Gan and come into the palace, we have the secret passages to fight back—but they could easily track us right now.'

'That's a pretty smart idea.' Soon they emerged on the other side, many hallways away from the entrance to their bedroom and the enraged girl laying in wait for them.

They went into Suleimon's study, and he raised an eyebrow at them. "What have you two been up to? I though I sent you to get cleaned up—you're covered in dust!"

Rick looked down at his dust smeared shirt and groaned. "Well we were clean for a few minutes." Then he turned to Ardeth. "We seem to be going through a lot of clothes lately don't we?"

"Yes, we are. I think we need to ask the elder ladies to help us with our wardrobe problem."

Rick scoffed. "Yeah well, we can't ask your cousin now. That's why our clothes got dirty, Dad. She was waiting for us outside our bedroom and we thought we'd take the safer route here, having had enough pain for a good long while."

The king sighed. "I will speak to her," he promised. "Now, exactly how many days were you in the future, and were you able to get any training done?"

"We were in the future for six days, and actually got quite a lot of training done. Teal'c even helped us out with our training a couple of times," Rick answered after taking a moment to figure out how long they were with the NID. Between them, being implanted with the goa'uld, and all the sleeping spells the older Ardeth had cast on him, it all blurred together and he wasn't one hundred percent positive on the exact count of the days.

"Yes, I think that's right. Although it certainly felt a lot longer at times," Ardeth murmured.

"Yeah, no kidding," Rick replied with a wry expression.

"Well, come and let us get your testing over with. Rick, I will spar with you, then Ardeth, you will spar with your teacher."

Rick nodded, partly excited, but also partly nervous. He and Ardeth followed Suleimon out to the practice arenas. When they got there, Rick began stretching to warm up for the battle. Once he had completed this, he took one of the scimitars from a nearby weapons rack displaying several Med-jai blades of different shapes and sizes. He held the weapon carefully in his left hand, conscious of the way his fingers wrapped around the handle.

Suleimon finished his own stretches and took his scimitar in hand. He swung at Rick, then looked completely surprised when he realized that the boy was using his left hand.

Rick's face didn't betray what little amusement he felt at his father's surprise mostly because he was concentrating on his movements. He deflected the blow with a strong block and then quickly, following Ardeth's advice, brought the blade around in a twirling motion and back down on top of the scimitar trying to dislodge the sword from Suleimon's hands.

The king dropped his blade. From the sidelines, Ardeth broke out into laughter. That caught Suleimon's attention, and he focused on the fight. It took him seconds to get his scimitar back in hand, and he approached Rick much more cautiously.

Rick circled the king watching his every step. Inside he was cheering in triumph! It had worked! But he quickly pushed this back down to focus, knowing that his Dad wouldn't underestimate him like that again. After a moment he came at the king in a swift series of movements trying to spread out his blocks so he could try and slip in between his defenses.

Suleimon easily parried the attacks, and kept his defenses tight enough that Rick couldn't get through. He drew Rick out, so that he got to see the full extent of the boy's knowledge of attacks, then started attacking himself so he could asses Rick's defenses.

Rick had to move quickly but managed to block most of his father's blows, only having to roll away once or twice. He feigned a blow to left as he spun to the right switching hands as he went and leveling a blow at Suleimon, trying to get behind him.

But in a burst of speed and a move eerily similar to the adult Ardeth's, Suleimon stayed behind Rick, and got close enough to rest the tip of his scimitar against Rick's back.

Rick froze. 'Man, I am never going to get used to that,' he thought as even through his shirt the blade felt cold as it pressed lightly on his back. Rick slowly turned around, acknowledging the king's victory and bowing to his father.

Suleimon put his scimitar away. "Well fought, my son. You almost had me there in the beginning."

"Thanks Dad," Rick said beaming at the compliment. He knew he still had a great many areas to improve in but he had felt a little more confident in this match than he had the first time he had tried it with Ardeth.

Ardeth stepped out onto the sands and threw an arm over Rick's shoulders. "Did not I tell you Father would drop his blade?" he asked, grinning, proud of how fast his brother was learning.

Rick laughed. As did Suleimon. "Ah, so you two are conspiring against me are you?" he teased.

Rick smiled at the look on the king's face. "Ardeth's been teaching me a lot," he explained, nodding his thanks to his brother.

"He surprised me with his left hand last week, too. He practiced with Gen." Ardeth told his father.

Rick shrugged. "With how well you fight, I didn't want to make a complete fool of myself the first time I tried it out."

Suleimon shook his head, glad the boys were feeling better enough to joke around. "It is your turn, Ardeth. Let us see what new things you have learned."

Rick moved to the sidelines with eager anticipation. 'This is going to be good!' he thought. 'Good luck, Ardeth.' he called to his brother through their bond.

'Thank you, my brother. This will be fun—I plan to try out some of those moves that my older self used!' Ardeth called back, as he stretched.

Hakim, who had also been watching from the sidelines, stepped forward into the arena saluting the prince. He had performed his warm up exercises while Rick had fought the king and stood ready when Ardeth was.

Both Med-jai bowed respectfully, then launched into attacks against each other. They each knew the other well enough to know that just holding back and defending would not be wise.

Hakim's scimitar flew through the air, resounding thunderously as it collided with the prince's blade. The general tried to use a series of strokes to penetrate Ardeth guard.

Ardeth parried each of them, adding little twists to the blocks to make the Hakim's scimitar go off in a different direction than the man had planned. After several minutes of fighting, Ardeth tried some of the moves he had seen his adult self using.

Hakim was surprised by Ardeth's blows and actually staggered back a bit trying to compensate for the new techniques. Rick smiled as he looked on, pleased to see how well his brother was handling the maneuvers and noticing also the pleased smile on Suleimon's face at his son's skill.

It didn't take long for Hakim to adjust to the new attack method, but then Ardeth switched again. This time he managed to get inside Hakim's guard enough to land a glancing blow with the flat of his blade against the man's sword arm.

Hakim took a quick moment to switch his sword from his right to his left but quickly dove back into the fight, swinging at Ardeth incessantly trying to lever enough strength with each blow to knock the sword from his hand.

The brute strength of the blows quickly wore the boy down—he was strong and hardened from his years of training, but still not able to match the full strength of an adult.

Hakim stoically pressed his advantage, finally breaking Ardeth's grip on his sword sending it clattering to the ground and quickly moving in laying the flat of his blade against the boy's neck.

"I yield," Ardeth panted, trying to catch his breath after the duel.

Hakim smiled, not in triumph, but in respect for how much Ardeth's skills had grown. He lowered his scimitar and clasped the boy's arm. "Well fought, my prince,' he congratulated with a slight bow.

Rick, too, was cheering for Ardeth as he ran over picking up his brother's scimitar and handing it back to him. "You got those moves down pretty well!"

"I need to practice them some more, but they truly are not difficult. I'll be able to teach them to you before long," Ardeth promised, grinning at Rick. He accepted his scimitar with a murmur of thanks and slid it through his belt.

Suleimon walked over to Ardeth smiling down at him. "Well done, Ardeth. You have greatly improved and your new techniques are very impressive. Did you learn them from Teal'c or develop them on your own?" he asked, curious since the moves had seemed unique and distinct from the advanced maneuvers he was currently learning.

"One of them I developed when fighting Teal'c. The others I learned from watching my older self fight Teal'c." Ardeth told him, stretching.

Suleimon laughed at the irony that he had learned it from himself. "You did quite well. I am very pleased with both your progress," he said looking down at both of his sons. Rick exchanged an excited look with his brother.


	32. Chapter 32

"What next, Father? Magic lessons?" Ardeth asked, suddenly remembering that they hadn't told Suleimon about Rick's developed powers.

"Yes," the king said nodding. He turned looking at Rick. Remembering the conversation he had with the adult Ardeth just two nights ago, he shook his head in wonder. Rick looked up at his father in confusion, not sure how to interpret the look on Suleimon's face, feeling certain he was in trouble for something. A little of this suspicion inadvertently showed on his face.

The man laughed. "You are not in trouble, my son. I am just amazed that you developed magic. Come, let us return to my study. I have found more of the ancient books that teach of the control of magic."

Rick breathed a sigh of relief and smiled at Ardeth as they followed Suleimon to his study. He was eager to learn how to do the amazing things he had seen his brother and father do in the past.

Both boys followed Suleimon to the study. The king gave each of them a large tome to study. "Rick, if you have difficulties with the language, ask one of us for help. It should be instinct, though, since your magic is awake."

Rick nodded, tracing the symbols on the cover of the tome in fascination. He opened the cover looking over the spells already enthralled by it. He murmured one of the phrases out loud without thinking and jumped when a gust of wind blew the shutters to the study open.

The two Med-jai exchanged a wry glance. "Be very careful what you say, Rick. Those phrases all have serious consequences." Suleimon warned, with a slight smile. "Ardeth did the same the first time he received that book."

Rick nodded, still wincing somewhat and grinned sheepishly at his twin, glad at least that he wasn't the only one to do something like that. "Thank goodness that was one of the milder spells." He closed the book gently making a mental note to check with Ardeth before reading anymore of the spells aloud until he got a better handle on what he was doing. Then he looked up at the king, slightly puzzled. "Hey, Dad, how did you know about my being able to use magic?" he asked, wondering if the king had known before he had.

Suleimon smiled. "Your older selves told me quite a few things about the future, including the fact that you needed to be trained."

Rick nodded, as he looked down at the book in his lap. He examined the hieroglyphs embossed in gold on the cover, then started slightly as he realized he could understand what it said. He looked at the cover again, puzzled, but he could clearly read the title: “Elemental Rites of the Med-jai”. He scratched his head in confusion at this new ability. But in so doing, his fingertips brushed against the scar on the back of his neck. He froze as memories flashed in his mind. Looking at his younger brother through cruel eyes, hearing his own voice threaten him with death, feeling a malice with in him towards the prince and then to the older king that was not his own. Then other memories, not ones he had personally witnessed, but that the symbiote had done through previous hosts. He face paled as he seemed to watch on helplessly as people died at his hands pleading for mercy then screaming in agony as they were murdered.

Rick could distantly feel a tug against his mind as Ardeth tried to use the bond to stop the flashback. Then, a large, powerful force entered his mind. The memories of the goa’uld fought against the intrusion. The presence swept aside the remnants of the goa’uld, though, and went straight to Rick. It took mere seconds for Rick to realize that the presence was that of Suleimon, and the king was watching him with great concern.

"Come, my son, let us talk—leave your mind and speak to me face to face."

Rick seemed to gasp as the trance was broken and he found himself once again in Suleimon's study, his brother and father beside him. He blinked a few times, trying to compose himself, ashamed at how frightened he knew he must look at that moment. Finally he raised his eyes to meet the king's.

Suleimon rested a gentle hand on Rick's shoulder. "What happened, child?" he asked, nudging Rick to one side on the couch so that Ardeth was sitting on one side and the king on Rick's other side.

It took a while before Rick found his voice. Swallowing hard, he shook his head in frustration. "I was... possessed by a creature while the NID had us," he confessed quietly. "He was trying to use me so that he could escape from the sacred site undetected. But when he was caught, he threatened to kill Ardeth. It was my voice he used and my hands he intended to use. I could feel his evil presence inside me but there wasn't anything I could do to stop him." He paused, hesitant to continue.

Suleimon pulled Rick closer to his side, while Ardeth silently pressed against Rick, hoping his presence would sooth the older boy.

"Be calm, my son," Suleimon said, resting his warm hand against the back of Rick's neck. "You are safe here, and I will not let the memories continue to assault you."

"It's not just my memories," he whispered. "He may be gone, but I can still remember everything he did in his life, the people he slaughtered, the worlds he burned." Rick clung to their presence with him like a life raft.

"Oh, child," Suleimon's voice was full of compassion. "It will take time, Rick. But know that Ardeth and I will be with you. In time, you will be able to separate these memories from the creature from your own, and use them to help motivate you as you fulfill your duty as a Med-jai. Because of what the creature did to you, you have now seen exactly what they are capable of, and you understand why our duty is so important. For now, would you like me to put a block over those memories? This will prevent them from intruding upon your mind unless you consciously seek them out. It will wear off in several years, but it will give you peace for now."

Rick nodded silently. Maybe in time these visions would motivate him, but he did not think he had the strength to deal with them yet. He wrapped his arms around Suleimon as tears slid down his cheeks, but he didn't care if he looked weak anymore. He was only filled with relief that his father didn't see him as such. "Thank you, Dad," he breathed, his shoulders shuddering slightly.

Suleimon hugged Rick tightly, then slid an arm free to rest it on Rick's forehead. "Sleep, Rick. When you wake up, the memories will be dealt with," he promised, using a touch of magic to send his adopted son into a deep sleep.

Rick slumped against his grasp, his face smooth as his muscles relaxed. He looked quite young, much younger than his age. The king looked from Rick to Ardeth to see if he would be alright. He knew Rick's time with the creature inside must have taken its toll on him as well.

Ardeth looked up at Suleimon. "Is there anything I can do to help, Father?" he asked quietly, not letting go of Rick's hand.

Suleimon smiled sadly. "Only to be there for your brother as I know you already are. Not much else but time will heal these wounds. You have had to grow a great deal in the past few months, but you are stronger than you think." He reached over to include Ardeth in his embrace, holding both of his sons close.

Ardeth clung to his father and brother, closing his eyes to shut out the world for just a few minutes.

Suleimon sent peace and comfort through their bond to both Rick and Ardeth. He himself drew comfort from having seen his sons as men knowing that the wounds would heal and that his boys were already well on their way to becoming great leaders for the Med-jai, that some good would come from their pain.

It didn't take long for Ardeth to fall asleep also, with the influence coming over both of his bonds. Suleimon took advantage of this to build the block in Rick's mind.

After he was finished he had one of the workers help him to bring the boys to the room, laying them in their beds. He would bring their new books to the room later. Rick slept soundly despite this, exhausted both mentally and physically.

Ardeth refused to be separated from his brother even in sleep—when they tried to put him in his own bed, he shifted restlessly and tried to wake up. Once they moved him to Rick's bed he calmed right down, latching onto the older boy's hand.

Suleimon smiled as he watched his sons sleep for a moment. "They certainly are twins," he breathed, wondering why the thought hadn't occurred to him sooner. After a while he silently left their bedroom and gave instructions to the staff at the palace that the boys should be allowed to sleep until they awoke on their own.

Ardeth woke up a few minutes before his brother, and smiled when he found that they were in the same bed. He relaxed against the soft mattress, thinking through what had happened. It was time to put all of that in the past, and enjoy the time with his family.

Rick turned over in his sleep. "I didn't do it, Evy, I swear..." he mumbled before as he was slowly coming around. Then when he realized he was in his bedroom, he sighed in relief.

Ardeth snickered. "What were you dreaming about, my brother?" he asked, sliding out of the bed and throwing the curtains open to let in the sunlight.

Rick shook his head, half of the dream already faded from his mind. "I don't really remember. Evy was just lecturing on about how I was responsible for something..." he thought hard trying to remember. "Oh yeah," he said with a devilish grin as it came to him. "I had moved one of the museum displays into a different room. It was a pretty large display, and it was taking her a while to figure out how I had gotten it in there and how she was going to get it back out again."

The boy laughed. "That sounds like a lot of fun. Next time we go to Cairo, we ought to try something like that."

Rick laughed as he walked over to a water basin splashing some water on his face. "We don't necessarily have to wait," he suggested, his expression one of deep thought. "I mean one of your cousins already wants to kill us but you have a few more to go before we really have to worry."

Ardeth thought about that. "That might work. We would have to switch their clothes bureau's—that would confuse them so much!"

"That would work!" Rick laughed, approving the idea.

"Let's go do it—everyone still thinks we're asleep, and it's late enough that they're all helping in the kitchens!"

"Perfect!" Rick followed his brother as they snuck out the door and down the hallways, carefully looking over their shoulders to make sure no one saw them out of their room. 'Which cousin should we target?' he asked through their bond once they reached the part of the palace where their bedrooms were located.

'Those two rooms! Let's switch everything, not just the clothes bureau!' Ardeth suggested, grinning.

'I like your style!' Rick enthused as they carefully entered the room. Fortunately, this pair of rooms was joined by large doors. Rick and Ardeth quickly set about the work of switching the furniture.

Deciding that this was an excellent opportunity for Rick to practice with his powers, Ardeth taught him the spell for moving large objects. Their prank quickly degenerated into a race to see who could get everything switched first.

Just as they were moving the last piece of furniture, they heard footsteps coming down the hall. Rick grimaced as he looked at Ardeth. 'Do these rooms have secret passageways too?' he asked with a slight tone of worry.

'Yes, come on, this way!' Ardeth led the way into the secret passage, carefully closing the door behind them. He led them through lots of passages, doubling back a few times to obscure the trail, before they ended up back in Ardeth's rooms. 'Quick, let's get cleaned up before someone comes to check on us!'

Rick and Ardeth both washed up as quickly as they could. They had just finished when they heard a clamoring sound resounding down the halls of the palace.

'Back in bed!' Ardeth hissed, flinging himself onto Rick's bed and tossing a blanket over the dust he hadn't been able to get off of his robes yet.

Rick also got in the bed, laying down and using every ounce of control to maintain a straight face.

Just before the door was thrown open, they heard Suleimon's deep voice interrupt the shrilling of the two girls and demand to know what was going on.

Rick wasn't sure whether to be grateful or to worry. Suleimon knew their tendency for playing pranks on their cousins, but he also had used the sleeping spell and might think they were still out. Without moving, Rick tried as hard as he could to hear what he was saying to them.

There was a brief discussion, then disgruntled mumbling from the girls as they went off. Suleimon came into the room. "You two can stop pretending to be asleep now, I sent them away."

Rick looked up sheepishly. "We appreciate you," he said with an innocent grin.

The king rolled his eyes. "I am certain you do. Now, how are you feeling? Any better?"

Rick nodded as he sat up. "Much. Thanks, Dad."

"You are welcome, my son. Now, I sent Amir to get our supper, since I don't believe it would be safe to entrust any of your cousins with your food right now. How exactly did you switch their entire rooms?"

Rick and Ardeth exchanged glances. O'Connell shuffled his feet somewhat. "Theoretically, we may have been practicing some of the new spells from our books.... possibly."

Sighing heavily, Suleimon settled onto a chair. "I can see that I am going to have no end of problems now that both of you are magic-users."

"Or," Rick suggested as if he could find away to make it allowable to constantly harass the girls of the house, "we could see this as an exercise so that we're fully ready to use magic before we need to use it in battle!"

"I will consent to that, if you can convince Amir of it." Suleimon told them. "He is the one who has the final say on how much practice you are allowed. If you do too much, you will hurt yourself."

Rick looked surprised that Suleimon had even taken his suggestion seriously. "Really? It worked—I mean we can?" he quickly corrected himself.

"If I don't give my permission, you will just do it anyways, and without any supervision. Talk to Amir before you do anything else, though."

"Okay," Rick agreed nodding vigorously. He looked shocked over at Ardeth.

Ardeth was waiting at the door for Amir. Moments later, they heard footsteps. The prince opened the door a crack to confirm that it was the healer before letting him in.

Having heard from the king of what had happened earlier, he wore an amused expression to see the prince cautiously peek around the door before allowing him entrance. "I see you are being quite wary of those you permit into your bedroom. An understandable measure considering the bounty the girls have placed on your heads."

"What have they put on our heads this time?" Ardeth asked, resigned. "Is it food again? If it is, then we are safe."

Amir nodded. "I can assure you, you are both quite safe."

Rick snorted to think that he and his brother were now wanted men and no one wanted to turn them in to claim the reward.

"They promised food as the bounty the last four times I pranked them. The first time, one of the guards thought it sounded good, so he 'captured' me and brought me to them. He spread word about the food, so we only have to worry about the girls themselves." Ardeth explained, taking one of the trays from Amir.

It took a second for Rick to get his laughter under control. "Your father sent me here to discuss with you the limitations of your magic-using abilities," Amir said as he handed the other tray to Rick. "While the king has assured me that some of your pranks are allowed, other may not be, we don't want you to expend your strength harming you and possibly others in the process."

"Yes, Amir. The same rules as when I first started using magic? No more than two spells a day?" Ardeth asked, hopefully.

"That will depend on the strength of the spell you use. You have been using magic a good deal more than you are accustomed," he said to Ardeth and then turned to address Rick. "And you have been using magic for the first time in your life. You both must take it slowly or you will become weaker, not stronger."

Ardeth dropped his eyes, wincing a little. He did not want to tell Amir that he had nearly drained himself completely several times. The healer wouldn't let him do magic again for weeks if he found out.

Amir did not notice this since at the moment his eyes had been focused on Rick. "You need to consult with me when you plan to do magic. And I will not deny you your fun, but you may want to take into account that if you push yourselves too far you may not have the strength to defend yourselves when they find out and come to try and hunt you down," the healer stated with laughter in his eyes.

"Oh, don't worry, I'll be very careful to conserve enough magic so that we will always be able to defend ourselves." Ardeth told the man—that had happened to him once, and he was very careful to not let it happen again.

Rick caught what he was certain was the hint of a rather long story behind that and made a mental note to ask Ardeth about it later.

"Enjoy your supper, boys, and come to me if you have any questions about magic restrictions." Amir told them, before leaving the room.

"We are going to have fun these next few weeks," Ardeth promised Rick, as he started to eat. "We can use some of the pranks we did in the future here."

Rick's laughter was evil as he moved over to sit next to his brother and begin plotting, bringing his food and the books their father had given to them with him.

Suleimon watched his sons eat and laugh as they planned enough mischief to send the entire city complaining to him. They hadn't let the shadows of future memories destroy them, and they would be fine.


End file.
